4 Best Sites To Learn Programming

If you are interested in trying out programming and have the determination to experiment and try coding on your own, then… congratulations! …you’re awesome!… and here is a list of my 4 top resources for helping you learn how to program. These are in the order in which I think they might be most useful to you. I don’t view them as sites where you choose one or the other, but instead using them together will give you a holistic learning experience!

1. Construct 2: Game Maker

https://www.scirra.com/construct2
Pros:

• You get results fast, rewarding and simple learning curve.
• Making games is fun!
• Free for personal use.
• Lots of tutorials on the website.
• It subtly introduces you to the core concepts of programming: conditions, actions, and loops.
• You can export your game and share it with friends!

Cons:

• You won’t be writing lines of code in a proper sense, (but I think this is excellent if you’re getting started)
• No formal learning structure.

2. Khan Academy

https://www.khanacademy.org/cs/programming

Pros:

• Free
• They lay a foundation of programming and explain ‘why’.
• They have videos and interactive challenges.

Cons:

• Has a slightly childish feel..which is fine but can feel condescending as an adult.
• Shallow coverage, good for an introduction, but you’ll want to move on to Code Academy or Code School quickly.

3. Code Academy

http://www.codecademy.com/learn

Pros:

• All free
• 100% interactive.
• Offers ‘raw’ language courses and one off projects.
• You get badges…I like badges

Cons:

• No videos.
• Requires more self direction.
• Skips a lot of the ‘why‘ and just explains ‘how‘

4. CodeSchool

https://www.codeschool.com/courses/try-ruby

Pros:

• Up to date with industry relevant programming languages.
• Their videos are fun!
• *Some courses are free.
• Deep coverage of content, doing some courses feel the equivalent learning to a full college course. (Try their jQuery path and see what I mean.)
• I still use it after a Computer Science degree and 8 years of work experience.

Cons:

• They assume you have some programming experience.
• Membership is around $25 a month (some courses are free)