How to stop fearing and start coding? In this post, we are going to the answer to this question. For instance, Roshan Choxi, Cofounder and CEO of Bloc, tells about three strategies that are extremely necessary to achieve this goal. First of all, you have to be focused on habits, not goals. Then you should understand, that learning alone is painful. And finally, you have to build things.

Try to build the habit of programming. 20-30 hours per week will be enough to become a web developer. Don’t focus on time, because the goal of being a specialist in X months will bring you a lot of stress and the sense of insecurity. As a result, your future occupation can easily turn into painful routine.

You can start from 15 minutes a day. Keep in mind, that at this stage the number of minutes is less important than the systematic approach. Try to add social components to your learning. You can get a mentor and become a part of a community. Experts not only know more than you, they can also tell you about common mistakes,  that really accelerates your learning. Get a mentor, and you will be able to pick up on how he thinks and unveils what you don’t know. Belonging to a community also helps a lot. You can always show your works to other members, use their experience, and ask questions.

Participate in real projects, because theory is useless without practice. In addition, building things can be an entertaining affair.  Remember, that one of your major goals is not to turn coding into a boring routine.

The Best Online Programming Courses

Team Treehouse

Treehouse is a learning platform with a library of more than 1,000 videos. The major topics provided on the website are HTML and CSS, JavaScript, PHP, Ruby, mobile, and responsive design. There are also business and marketing courses on the platform. Thanks to well-structured learning paths, Treehouse is good for the beginners. Lessons include quizzes and coding challenges, so the studying is enthralling and entertaining. In addition, Treehouse has a forum for those who get stuck and a job board with jobs that are available to qualified Treehouse members only. The Basic Subscription is $25/month; Pro costs $49/month.

Code School

Code School provides a highly engaging learning experience. Founded by Envy Labs, this platform includes only the most advanced teaching methodologies. It covers such subjects as HTML and CSS, Ruby, JavaScript, iOS, etc. Each course is set up as a game, and every module within every course is a level.  You should complete all the levels in order to finish the course. Code School provides some beginner content for free, but it is better suited for someone familiar with the basics.  Monthly subscription is $29, but you can pay $290 for the year.

Learnable

Learnable provides 80 courses with practical materials for users of every level. The courses consist of both videos and texts, include files for practice and have discussion threads. Key topics include PHP, JavaScript, jQuery, CSS3, HTML5, Node.JS, WordPress, Ruby, Photoshop, Mobile, Responsive Web Design, iOS, Android, Marketing, Business and Blogging. The price is $25 per month.

Thinkful

Thinkful is a place, where you will get a mentor. The platform relies on expert instructions from seasoned developers and an organic learning community . Thinkful provides its users with all the necessary videos and text material; custom consoles and code editors; discussion threads and forums. With the personalized learning approach, the courses last for 3 months. With Thinkful, you can study HTML and CSS, Javascript, AJAX, Jquery, UX, JSON, Design Fundamentals, Github, Python and Ruby. Frontend coding course costs $300 per month, Ruby and Python – $500.

Frontend Masters

With Frontend Masters, you can significantly build up your existing web development skills. The platform has assembled a team of the most seasoned web developers and relies on courses filmed from live seminars with live questions and useful advices. Subjects covered by Frontend Masters include HTML5, CSS3, JQuery, JavaScript, Backbone.JS, AngularJS, Node.JS, and Responsive Design. The price is $39/month or $299/year.

General Assembly

General Assembly was originally formed as a coworking space, but now it is a global education platform with streaming seminars and online courses for coders, designers, and entrepreneurs. With general Assembly, you can study HTML, CSS, JavaScript, JQuery, git,  Scrum, Agile, API, Responsive Design, Business, Marketing, and Design. The program called Dash is free, Front Row costs $25 per month.

PluralSight

PluralSight is a source of  useful knowledge for developers and network administrators. The platform is almost useless for the beginners, but if you are are going to improve your skills, PluralSight can always help you. Sharepoint, SQL Server, Windows Server, Exchange Server, ASP.NET,  .NET, Networking, JavaScript, Windows 8, Java, Visual Studio, C#, C++ are among available courses. The basic price is $29 per month or $299 per year, but if you need some practice, you have to pay $49 per month or $499 per year for  courses with exercise files.

Tuts+

Tuts+ provides video courses,  ebooks and downloadable project files. New content is added daily.  There is also a free introductory HTML & CSS course, which can be a perfect starting point for every beginner. The price is relatively low – $19 per month.

Mozilla School of Webcraft

Mozilla courses are built on the Peer 2 Peer University platform.  They form something like a series of wiki documents with user-generated challenges. There is also a mentorship scheme, which helps newbies connect with more advanced coders. The courses are absolutely free.

CS50 OpenCourseware

Computer Science 50 or CS50 is an introductory course of Harvard College, which includes a set of courses known as CS1 and CS2. These courses are taught mostly in C and are available to everyone via cs50.tv.  CS50 includes PDFs and videos of lectures and seminars.

Codecademy

Codecademy is another education company which works in online.  Bring the first truly net native education, it provides the best learning experience based on all modern tendencies. The platform uses the experience of Zynga, Facebook and other network giants in creating a unique and engaging educational experience.

Lynda

Lynda provides an unlimited access to more than 5,000 video courses. New content, which is based on the experience of top experts,  is added weekly. Courses cover creative techniques, technical skills, business strategies, etc. You can watch them from your computer or mobile device. It is also a possible to create custom playlists.

CodeHS

CodeHS offers well-crafted instructional materials supported by personal professional tutors. Members of CodeHS believe that everyone can learn computer science, and they make this process easier.

Courses by CodeHS

EdX

With EdX,  you can participate in interactive online classes from different universities and organizations. Among the most important sources are MIT, Berkeley, Harvard, and UT. Computer science, biology, business, economics, chemistry, finance, engineering, electronics, food and nutrition, humanities, history, law, math, literature, medicine, philosophy, music, physics, and statistics are among the key topics of courses.

Saylor Academy

Saylor Academy provides online courses for free. The project is funded by the Constitution Foundation – a non-profitable organisation. The main goal of Saylor Academy is to eliminate all barriers of distance, time, and money, which are typical for modern education.

CodeCombat

CodeCombat provides absolutely unique approach to education.  Students don’t need attend lessons and watch different tutorial – they just have to play the game. CodeCombat is not a gamified lesson course, it is a sterling multiplayer game with the control based on coding.

Scratch

Scratch is a place, where you can program your own games, animations and interactive stories. The project teaches people to think creatively and work collaboratively. There is also a possibility to share the creations within the community. Scratch as the first step in coding.

• MIT OpenCourseWare – One of the top American research institutions also has its online courses. MIT is opened to web users, so you can learn coding anywhere.

• Udacity – Computer science, physics and math courses by Udacity are also available everywhere to everyone. Education is no longer something that happens in a certain place once in a lifetime. It is a lifelong experience and Udacity proves it.

• The CodePlayer – CodePlayer is a place, where people explain how they built things from scratch. You can use the platform to gain new skills or to show your coding experience to newbies.

• Coursera – This online education giant also brings some coding courses.  The material is free and courses are available in English, French, Spanish, Italian and Chinese.

• Khan Academy – With Khan Academy you can learn all possible digital skills. The platform provides all the necessary educational materials.

• Learn Python the Hard Way –  Learn Python the Hard Way provides free PDFs and paid video courses ($29).

• HTML5 Rocks  – This is the place where you can learn everything about HTML5. The platform relies on slides, presentations and videos.

• Code.org – Code.org is a non-profit platorm, which makes computer science available for everyone. The courses are available in more than 30 languages, and used worldwide.