10 Resources To Learn Web Development In 2024

Do you want to work for yourself or start a side hustle in technology? Do you want to represent your business or brand on the Internet? Do you want to learn the inner workings of the platforms that drive the modern digital economy? Web development is for you.

Web development is a great choice for a career. The market is ever growing: the US Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts 30.3% employment growth for web developers between 2021 and 2031. Web developers also report high levels of job satisfaction, and often have very flexible freelancing and remote work opportunities.

So what do you need to do to learn web development in 2024?

How Do You Learn Web Development in 2024?

If you want to learn web development, then you usually have three choices: formal education, self-education, and boot camps.

If you choose a formal education or a boot camp you will participate in a guided journey under the tutelage of the course instructors.

Regardless of which you choose, expect to do a lot of self-education anyway. Colleges and universities expect you to do your own research. In the real world you will have to research the answers to your own problems.

Develop this skill early. It’s vital. Google is your friend.

The Basics of Web Design: HTML, CSS, and JavaScript

Before you learn anything else about web design, you need to learn the basics of HTML and CSS. Don’t freak out! I direct you to resources to learn just these things later in the article.

HTML: The Structure of Web Pages

You probably know that web pages are stored on servers, but how are they stored? The basis of a web page is usually a HTML document. This stands for HyperText Markup Language. It’s a simple text file with all of the written content of a web page, marked with tags that give meaning to that content.

For example, an entire HTML document is enclosed within <html></html> tags. A paragraph is tagged by surrounding it with the <p></p> tags. A hypertext link (where HTML gets its name) is indicated by enclosing it in <a></a> tags.

CSS: The Style of Web Pages

HTML gives semantic meaning to content, but CSS (or Cascading Style Sheets) gives it style.

The style rules of CSS are applied to the HTML document to modify its appearance on the Web.

CSS can be used to change fonts, colors, rearrange elements within a window, and even create animations. If you don’t want your web pages to look like default HTML documents, you need to learn a bit of CSS.

JavaScript: The Behaviour of Web Pages

JavaScript is a programming language used to give behaviour to web pages beyond the standard behaviour provided by HTML and CSS. JavaScript is not necessary to create a basic web page, but it can be used for advanced functionality like form submission verification, dynamic content, and browser games. If HTML and CSS cannot accomplish a task in web development, JavaScript usually can.

10 Websites Where You Can Learn Web Development

If you choose formal education or a boot camp, you will still need to educate yourself on the side. If you are teaching yourself, you may have to rely heavily on online resources. The following websites are ideal for learning the basics of web development:

1. freeCodeCamp

freeCodeCamp.org is a free website with courses and certifications on different aspects of web design. The user is given tasks and must complete these tasks by coding in their browser window. This eliminates the need to set up any working environments before learning.

The Responsive Web Design course is enough to teach you the HTML and CSS you need to start building your own web pages.

Project-based learning is important for web developers. freeCodeCamp.org users are given projects to complete in between lessons. Unfortunately, these projects live in the freeCodeCamp servers and ecosystem, but you can always manually copy-and-paste the code to another platform if you want to use projects for your portfolio.

freeCodeCamp is located at this link.

2. The Odin Project

The Odin Project is a fantastic resource for learning everything to do with web development. There is a little more overhead in learning from The Odin Project than freeCodeCamp because The Odin Project also teaches you to setup a development environment using the Linux command line, Git, and Github. These are vital skills for web developers, and knowledge of Git allows you to host your own portfolio on Github Pages.

If you are choosing the free route to self-education, I recommend using freeCodeCamp and the Odin Project at the same time. freeCodeCamp goes into deep detail on HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, while The Odin Project teaches broader concepts like design, web development models, and how to upload your web pages to your own platform.

The Odin Project is located at this link.

3. Mozilla Developer Network Web Docs

The Mozilla Developer Network (MDN) Web Docs provide comprehensive documentation, guides, and references to web development. This includes information on HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Web APIs.

I find the web development guides and tutorials to be a little slow compared to freeCodeCamp and The Odin Project, but as a comprehensive source of documentation on web development languages this website cannot be beaten. It is a must-have bookmark and reference for aspiring web developers.

MDN Web Docs is located at this link.

4. Udemy

Udemy is an online learning platform with hundreds of courses on many different subjects. There is plenty of good content on web development, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

Udemy courses are purchased on an individual basis, and buyers get lifetime access. Courses can also be temporarily discounted or even given away for free.

Remember to check the description, star rating, and reviews of courses before purchase.

Udemy is located at this link.

5. Skillshare

Skillshare is another online learning platform with a variety of courses on many subjects. Unlike with Udemy, Skillshare has a subscription model which gives subscribers access to all of their content. This means that members can learn from multiple courses and study not only web development, but any other skill they desire.

To get one month’s free membership, and 40% off your first payment if you choose to continue your subscription, use this link to Skillshare.

6. Coursera

Coursera has partnered with universities, colleges, industry leaders, and other organizations around the world to offer courses and online degrees in a diverse range of subjects. Coursera offers some courses for free, although sometime benefits are restricted to paying customers only (like graded assignments or completion certificates).

Coursera also has a subscription plan, Coursera Plus, that gives members access to a selection of their courses.

Coursera is located at this link.

7. Treehouse

Treehouse is a subscription-based platform dedicated specifically to technology courses. They offer real-time support for students, a community forum, and skill tracks that teach sets of stackable tech skills.

Treehouse offers a 7-day free trial, and then subscribers are charged $25USD monthly and can cancel any time.

Treehouse is located at this link.

8. edX

edX is another online platform that offers university-level courses and online degrees. Their goal is to provide access to quality education for people around the world. Many of edX’s courses are free, although some have fees or require payment for a certificate of completion. Some programs offer more formalised certifications or degrees.

edX is located at this link.

9. Pluralsight

Pluralsight is focused on courses directed at developers and other IT professionals. They have a subscription-based model but provide a free 10-day trial so you can try before you buy. Pluralsight also has dedicated learning tracks that you can use to take curated courses that will educate you in a particular subject, e.g. web development.

Pluralsight is located at this link.

10. My Intro to HTML web page

I wrote this introduction to HTML as one of the assignments for freeCodeCamp. It is a quick and easy tutorial designed to teach total beginners how to make a simple web page on their hard drive using a text editor.

Conclusion

Web development is a thriving industry that should see great growth in the next decade.

If you want to teach yourself web development, then here are ten great sources for online learning:

freeCodeCamp
The Odin Project
Mozilla Developer Network (MDN) Web Docs
Udemy
Skillshare
Coursera
Treehouse
edX
Pluralsight
My Introduction to HTML web page

Do you know any others? Post them in the comments of this blog article.

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