5 free resources to kick-start your career as a web developer!

Salut👋😇

This was definitely not what I planned writing on this week but after my last article on the detailed roadmap to getting started as a frontend developer I got several dms from you guys on twitter @d_realmaster and to be honest I haven't gotten that much dms since I joined twitter(it felt really good😂) and most of you kept asking the same thing "free places/website to learn" and I can't blame any of you at all.🙅🙅

Paid courses are very good but the least amount you can get a good course is $15 to $20. That might not seem much to some of you guys in "advanced" countries but for some people (using Nigeria as an example) that is 30% of a workers minimum wage. So for unemployed people or students(like me) free resources is a complete no brainer.

The term “free resources” might make some people skeptical but some of the most fundamental resources for web development come without a price tag.🏷

The following resources are essential tools if you really want to kick start your career as a web developer. Are you ready? OK Allons-y🕺

Disclaimer: I am not in anyway affiliated with any of the listed resource/company. Every view stated below is based on my individual bias.

1) W3schools (Visit)

W3schools claims to be the largest web developer site on the internet (I don't really know how true that is😅). That aside it's a fantastic place to be if you're into web development.

W3Schools uses simple code examples and simple illustrations of how to use it. It focuses on simplicity.
The tutorials start from basic level and move all the way up to professional references.

As an intermediate their "how to" section is my go-to if I am stocked when building a project or if I just need inspiration. Long story short I love w3schools. Next is...

2) Sololearn (Visit)

I can't over stress how beginner friendly sololearn is. Everything from html to css to Js are all explained well. So regardless of where you are coming from whether you have a CS degree or not you should perfectly understand sololearn. (The name says it all sololearn).

The only "bad thing" that I can say about sololearn is that it is somehow "limited". My advice is pick up the basics with sololearn and move to another resource.

3) FreeCodeCamp (Visit)

Freecodecamp is a basically one of the best things that has happened to us as web developers and programmers.

Freecodecamp is ideal if you already know bit about code, because you can simple skim through it and still understand it. For new comers it can be a little bit difficult to understand. Therefore I might not really recommend it to an absolute beginner.

I tried using Freecodecamp during my beginner days but I basically wasn't understanding anything. I couldn't even pass their practice test.

As an intermediate Freecodecamp is my go-to for everything like refreshing my memory or learning something new.

4) MDN Web Docs (Visit)

MDN basically has everything that it ought to have. I love it because it is a little bit advanced. I don't think there is anything related to javascript or web development in a whole that isn't on MDN. It's simply awesome.

I came across Immediately Invoked Function Expression(IIFE) just yesterday for the first time and for the record i have "completed" the JS course in one of the above resources.

All I can say is MDN might not be really beginners friendly. Some people will disagree with me but like i said earlier i am just stating my take on each of them.😊 I am definitely going to write on IIFE in one of my future articles(look at for it👀). The last but definitely not the least is...

5) YouTube (Visit)

I feel YouTube is a must use for everyone. I don't think I am supposed to stress over how important YouTube would be in our journey. You practically get to see awesome developers like Brad Traversy of Traversy media or Ania Kubów of code with Ania kubów and the rest of them work on real life projects which can have a massive boost in your career.

My only advice is try to read about that language/topic of your choice either from the official documentation or from the above resources before running to watch a crash course or all those "understand Javascript in 10mins videos"😂only if life was that easy.

WRAP UP

As we all know peoples judgement on things can be subjective. Like I always say check out most of them and stick to anyone that resonates with you better.

One last thing I don't want it to seem like I was in anyway trying to undermine the effort put into these free resources. Being a content creator is not easy and making your content free can only be done by wonderful and good hearted people.

I am officially using this post to give a shout-out to every content creator out there. Y'all are all MVPs.🙌 Especially the ones that feel the aren't getting the kind of engagement the want(like me) Y'all are kings too.👑 Continue doing what you are doing. I am always rooting for you.❤&💡