The Best Online Platforms to Learn Programming Languages
Web • June 4, 2020
The internet is the most popular place to learn new things, and even though YouTube is very popular – you wouldn’t believe how popular are the online courses.
The online learning industry is booming and we believe that it’s the best place to learn any programming language.
The history of programming languages goes hundreds of years back. Coding isn’t going anywhere, and it’s still one of the most demanding skills you could learn in the IT industry.
But no matter how complicated coding looks like, did you ever try and learn a programming language?
It can be an overwhelming process if you don’t have the right teacher or a learning platform. Therefore, down below, you’ll find some of the best platforms to learn programming languages.
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Why online coding courses are worth investing in?
Sure, you can find dozens, if not hundreds of books on programming. You’ve must have come across the book called Beginning Programming for Dummies, right?
Even though these books might be tempting and could actually help – we believe that online coding courses have much more to offer for the price they cost.
After all, isn’t it better to learn step by step on the computer rather than trying to follow and understand something from the book?
We are a big fan of online coding courses because they allow you to learn at your own pace, yet follow the most up-to-date training on a certain programming language.
Communication in the courses is almost always outstanding (no matter the teacher) and it just provides a better learning & working environment.
As long as you commit and keep learning – course investment can definitely pay itself off in the long run. Yet if you’re at least a decent learner – you won’t need to spend a lot of money on 1-on-1 teaching.
And luckily, there are hundreds of course platforms on the internet that can teach you almost any programming language you are interested in.
Therefore, let’s start with our favorite choice! Keep on reading to find out top training courses you can learn from.
Top online platforms for learning programming
Pluralsight
The reason Pluralsight is our number one choice is because it’s an online educational platform that specializes in providing training courses for software developers, IT administrators, and creative professionals that rely on any of the most used programming languages.
Therefore, it’s a go-to platform if you are looking to learn a new programming language. It’s ideal for both beginners that haven’t had any prior experience and also experienced programmers who would like to improve their skills.
Some of the most popular programming languages you can learn on Pluralsight are:
- JavaScript
- Python
- C#
- Angular
Although, there are many other programming languages so you don’t have to worry if you didn’t find your pick on the list above. Anyone can join for a trial that lasts 10 days and we believe that this is more than enough to experience all features of the platform and even learn plenty of things as a beginner.
Some of the best features we were intrigued by are:
- In-depth courses led by industry experts
- Short skill assessments that help you get on the right track
- In-course guided learning
- Hands-on learning
Each one of the programming languages has about 10-15 courses and we like how Pluralsight organized their platform. The goal is to either learn new skills or take your career and existing skills to another level.
There are 3 pricing plans:
- Monthly – $29.60/month
- Annual – $302.16/year ($25.18/month)
- Premium – $456.32/year ($38/month)
We also like the team plans that are ideal for growing companies who would like to educate their employees further instead of hiring more skilled programmers.
After all, there is no better place to learn from than a platform that specializes in providing training to programmers of all skill levels.
Treehouse
Treehouse is our second pick because they are very similar to Pluralsight and yet have a couple of differences that might help some people learn more efficiently.
If you haven’t heard about Treehouse, they’re a supportive learning platform that features over 300 courses and also allows people to learn through workshops or even have discussions in the forums.
They’ve been around for quite a long time now and they’ve even worked with some of the leading companies in the industry such as the Google Developers, Amazon Alexa, and even Microsoft.
What we like the most about the platform is the flexibility. This platform is made for almost everyone and instead of you having to adjust your schedule to learn a new skill – Treehouse platform helps adjust to your schedule so you can learn at your own pace and yet still make good progress.
The best thing is that you don’t need any prior experience and you can easily join Treehouse platform for free. The trial lasts for 7 days and then the pricing plan after the trial is fairly simple.
Depending on your skill level and goals, Treehouse matched the pricing plan according to your needs:
- Basic – ideal for beginners – $25/month
- Pro – ideal for people with prior experience who take coding seriously – $49/month
- Techdegree – ideal for everyone who wants to create a job-ready portfolio – $199/month
Treehouse has also thought of teams and they have special packages for teams who would like to expand their skills and improve on the existing ones.
But knowing that you could get hired after learning a programming language, creating your own projects, reviewing real code, and getting your portfolio ready by opting in for Techdegree is really outstanding.
We’ve noticed that the most popular learning courses on Treehouse are:
- Front end web development
- JavaScript (full stack)
- Java
- PHP
However, there are many others – yet it’s great to see that you could learn a full stack if you are interested in JavaScript, among other coding languages.
Udemy
Almost everyone has heard of Udemy. It’s one of the most popular platforms you’d go-to for any kind of training.
The great thing about Udemy is that it features a lot of programming language courses and you can find almost any programming language course at a very reasonable price.
Since Udemy features a lot of different courses (not only in the programming niche), they offer a wide range of courses on the same topic.
However, Udemy works a bit differently than the first two platforms. They’re an open platform which means that anyone can create a course and offer it on Udemy.
Therefore, you’ll be able to choose your instructor and choose a course that will fit your needs and skill level appropriately.
The course prices for programming usually range from $20 to $60, yet you can also find a couple of higher-priced courses.
Most courses on Udemy are video courses which are ideal if you love learning by video and you can preview a couple of lesson from each course to see if it is for you before you purchase it.
No matter the prices, we believe that you can find quality courses that will at least get you started with programming without breaking the bank at first.
CodeCademy
CodeCademy has been around for almost a decade. If you haven’t heard of it – it is a platform that specializes in coding and it features 11 different programming languages which include:
- Python
- Go
- Java
- JavaScript
- Ruby
- SQL
- C++
- Swift
- Sass
- HTML
- CSS
But what’s most interesting about CodeCademy is that it’s absolutely free. Yes, you’ve read it right!
You can get started with a basic (free) membership that offers 180 hours of content and allows you access to interactive lessons and daily practices. This is more than enough to get you started, especially considering it’s free.
However, if you stick with the training and you’d like more from CodeCademy, they also have a paid membership.
It’s called Pro and for $20 a month, you get the ability to learn & practice longer using more lessons with 1,800 hours of content, but also have access to real-world projects and jobs that fit your skill level.
If you’re on a budget and yet you’d want to be a part of a learning platform that specializes in programming languages – we don’t think that there’s a better option than CodeCademy.
Lynda
If you’re familiar with the LinkedIn networking platform, you might have heard about their learning platform known as Lynda.
Lynda is now also known as LinkedIn Learning so don’t let that confuse you. But what can you find at Lynda?
Just like at Udemy, you can find hundreds, or even thousands of courses in various industries, including programming.
Some of the best courses on Lynda for programmers are:
- Programming Foundations: Algorithms
- SQL Essential Training
- Learning Java
- Learning Python
- Python Essential Training
- Learning SQL Programming
- Programming Foundations: Real-World Examples
What really caught our attention is that Lynda doesn’t only offer programming courses for all skill levels (including beginners). Yet they also provide analysis or even real-world examples related to programming which definitely help beginners understand the basics of programming.
The first month is free and then you can choose between two membership models:
- Monthly – $30/month
- Annually – $19/month
We believe that Lynda is one of the most valuable platforms to learn since once you pay the membership – you can access any training. Therefore, you can go through any programming training available on the platform, and even find more training that could help you with your other life skills.
Coursera
If you are trying to get into coding and start a new career by learning a new skill – Coursera might be an ideal place to learn from.
They build and publish courses with a focus to get you ready for a career. You can even earn a certificate or a degree to help you start a new career and even move up the ranks afterward.
You will be able to find over 3,900 courses on Coursera, get more than 13 professional certificates, and even find 20+ degrees & MasterTrack certificates to complete.
Even though Coursera is a platform that doesn’t solely focus on programming, we believe that their selection of programming courses is decent.
In fact, some of the most popular courses on Coursera are Python for Everybody, among all other courses available on the platform.
And the thing we like the most about the courses over at Coursera is that they are usually created by academics who teach at colleges.
But are you ready to hear the best thing about Coursera? It’s free to join for individuals! Most courses are free, however, degrees and certificates will cost.
But we still think that this is a great place to start if you’re changing a career.
MIT OpenCourseWare
MIT stands for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and OpenCourseWare is their way of helping people get educated for free.
They have a wide range of courses and they mostly focus on mathematics, but one of their most popular courses is “Introduction to Computer Science and Programming in Python”.
What’s important about MIT OpenCourseWare is that once you finish one of their courses, the level you will achieve is undergraduate (or even graduate for some courses).
Therefore, if you’re looking to get started programming by learning from a trustable source – there’s no better place to get started than with MIT.
We like how their courses feature video, interactive assessments, assignments, and you will even have lecture notes, and transcripts to study from. Therefore, we believe their courses replicate the feeling of studying a certain subject in a school really well.
You’ll probably have questions about…
What should I look for in a programming course?
If you’re a total beginner, the first thing you should look out for is an explanation of the basics. It’s important to get the basics right or even refresh your memory if you’re an experienced programmer.
Since programming is all about problem-solving, you would want a course that doesn’t only explain things – but also gives you assignments and tasks to do so you can follow the training and learn by doing rather than just learn by watching.
If you know which programming language you’re interested in, you should carefully read the course description and everything it will teach you so you know exactly whether this is something you’d love to learn from.
Which online coding platform is the best for me?
Any of the previously mentioned platforms and course providers will be ideal for everyone who’s reading this post.
However, there’s one important thing you should do. You should consider the level and authority of the course you’ll learn from.
As you could’ve noticed, some courses are ideal for beginners and people who want to see whether programming is for them.
On the other hand, we have listed programming courses that allow you to get certified, or even finish a degree and start finding jobs in the field.
Budget is also a great determining factor so even if the budget isn’t a problem – we highly recommend starting slow and then move on as you learn.
This way, you won’t end up spending lots of money before even knowing if you’ll stick with coding.
What are the necessary skills for coding?
How do you know if coding is for you? Even though you might have never touched a programming language – you could still know if you’ll do well.
Coding requires some of the skills some of us have:
- Self-reliance
- Patience
- Strong memory
- Attention to detail
- Logic
Don’t be too harsh on yourself, and even though these can guide you – we still believe that everyone should give programming a try & stay consistent with it before making a decision.
How long does it take to learn a programming language?
Everyone learns at a different pace, however, to learn the basics of most programming languages – it takes between 3 to 6 months.
Some people can learn to code faster and others will take longer – but we think that this time frame is quite realistic.
Also, remember that the beginning is always the hardest part. Once you get the basics down, you’ll be able to move at a quicker rate.
That’s just one of the reasons why you shouldn’t ignore basics either, as they’re a foundation of everything you’ll be learning down the road.
Conclusion
Programming skills aren’t as hard to learn as many people think. It requires proper instructions, patience, and a lot of dedication.
And in return, you will be able to work in an industry that’s on the rise, providing a skill that will hardly go out of demand.
Any of these courses are ideal for everyone. They’re even made for someone who doesn’t even know what’s programming to someone who knows the basics and is looking to learn more.
It’s up to you to choose a learning platform that will fit your needs and goals. However, since we put up a list of only the best training platforms, you won’t have to worry about the rest! Best of luck and happy coding.
