So you want to get started with coding, but don’t know where to start.
It can feel like a daunting project, possibly because many of us have the idea of coding being some kind of dark art, with lots of complicated syntax to get right.
Thankfully, the internet is here to help. And here’s the first secret: It’s not all about the details. One of the biggest advantage of the tools below is that they’ll help you wrap your head around the big picture, and understand how computational thinking works.
Make it a game!
Codecademy takes you through the basics of coding languages from HTML to Python painlessly, by gamifying it.
Solve puzzles, earn badges. Get stuck? Ask for a hint!
If this seems too technical for you, the tools on Code.org and Scratch have an even more gamified approach.
Yes, it’s technically for kids, but heck, it works for adults too.
Anyone who doesn’t get excited about coding after helping Anna and Elsa make a winter wonderland is just crazy.
Hit the books
Looking for a more traditional approach to learning? Books that earlier would’ve cost you a fortune are now largely available free online. Why not try Learn Python The Hard Way (which sounds horribly intimidating, but really it’s more like Learn Python By Coding Python…) and you’ll soon be a master scraper.
Do your own thing
Finished your Codecademy course and don’t know where to go next? Every developer says the same thing: The best way to learn programming is to start on your own project.
But if you’re stuck for ideas, here’s a list of 125 project ideas.
And remember: Google is your friend
Make Google, StackOverflow and Github your very best friends.
And remember: whenever you run into an error message that makes you want to ragequit and throw your laptop out the window, just try googling the error first.
Odds are dozens have already asked and solved that very problem on StackOverflow.
What other issues have you run into when teaching yourself to code? Tweet us @Interhacktives and let us know!
Clara has fled the arctic wilderness of Sweden to be a data journalist in London. She likes strong coffee, data-driven storytelling and really massive spreadsheets.
A great resource for beginners that provides reviews of many of the pay and free learn to code sites is http://codeconquest.com/reviews/. Nice to see them in one place and compare.