Living in the age of information overload, it’s hard not to become overwhelmed by myriads of front-end and back-end development courses found on the web.
So as not to let you stumble upon, we’ve carefully selected the best courses that offer only relevant and actual knowledge on the topic. Each of them is the result of tight cooperation between industry experts and world-renowned universities.
If you are thinking about starting a career path either as a front-end or back-end developer, this roundup is for you.
Front-end development courses
Introduction to web development
by the University of California, Davis on Coursera
This course is often recommended as the best for complete beginners but it also helps to refresh basic knowledge of experienced developers. This course presents an excellent start for everyone who is eager to become a web developer and doesn’t know where to start.
With the course, you’ll get a profound understanding of how websites work, how they are built, how browsers and devices interact with the web. As for practical skills, you’ll learn how to create dynamic web pages, get familiar with programming language concepts, and deploy your first website.
Prerequisites: you can enroll in this course without any previous experience in programming or web development.
It takes around 16 hours to finish the course. We are sure it will prepare you for future challenges of more advanced web development. Give it a try!
Front-End Web Development with React
by The Hongkong University of Science and Technology on Coursera
This course is a part of Full-Stack Web Development with React specialization. As the name implies, it’s dedicated to building front-end applications with the help of the React library. As the course progresses, you’ll get the idea of creating responsive UI design with Reactstrap, grasp basic React concepts, learn about Flux architecture, Redux, client-server communication, REST API and how to use React router in SPAs (single-page apps).
Prerequisites: solid knowledge of Bootstrap 4, JavaScript and ES5 are recommended.
It takes around 32 hours to finish the course.
As a result, you’ll be comfortable with both creating responsive React-Redux apps and designing its architecture.
Multiplatform Mobile App Development with React Native
by The Hongkong University of Science and Technology on Coursera
Are you more interested in developing mobile apps? Then you should pay close attention to this React Native course. This is another course of the same specialization but focused mainly on developing cross-platform iOS and Android apps with React Native, Redux and the Expo SDK.
Prerequisites: basic knowledge of programming concepts, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. No previous competence of React is required.
It takes 27 hours to complete the course.
As a result, you’ll know how to build multiplatform applications, use React Native, Expo SDK, and Redux.
Try this course to acquire and master your React and JavaScript skills!
Single Page Web Applications with AngularJS
by Johns Hopkins University on Coursera
If you prefer AngularJS to React, we have something for you. During this course, you’ll deepen your knowledge of the following concepts: dependency injection for reusing existing services, writing own services, creating reusable HTML components with AngularJS data binding and extending HTML syntax with directives. Plus, you’ll learn about routing for multiple views and performing unit-testing. As a final project, you’ll build a well-structured and tested web app and deploy it to the cloud.
Prerequisites: only a good understanding of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript is required.
It takes 37 hours to complete the course.
Web development on Experts Exchange
by Experts Exchange
Web development includes all aspects of presenting content on intranets and the Internet, including delivery development, protocols, languages and standards, server software, browser clients, databases and multimedia generation.
Experts-Exchange provides articles, courses, videos and forums for all web development related aspects. Courses range from basic to intermediate levels and include training courses to prepare participants for exams.
Prerequisites: you are required to know programming in general all the basics and more advanced information you will find there.
Server-side development courses
Let’s proceed to server-side development now.
Server-side Development with NodeJS, Express, and MongoDB
by The Hongkong University of Science and Technology on Coursera
This excellent course focuses on server-side aspects of web development. You’ll get the idea of web protocols (HTTP and HTTPS), NodeJS modules, CRUD operations, NoSQL databases (namely MongoDB and Mongoose), REST concepts, and Backend as a Service approaches.
Prerequisites: all you need to know is basic HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
In total, it requires around 4 weeks of intensive study to complete the course.
As a result, you’ll be proficient at configuring the backend server using NodeJS, building a RESTful API from it and handling authentication and security.
Building Web Applications in PHP
by the University of Michigan on Coursera
Are you fond of PHP? Then you’ll like this course. During this time, you’ll learn about the basic structure of a web app, request and response cycles, HTML, CSS, syntax and data structures of PHP. The course covers also concepts of error handling and superglobal variables.
Prerequisites: you are required to know programming in general (in any language). It’s also recommended to take the Web Design for Everybody specialization before starting.
It takes approximately 19 hours to finish the course.
By the end of the course, you’ll develop the practical skills of installing PHP and MySQL environments like MAMP or XAMPP and create an application that is perfect to be added to your portfolio.
Responsive Web Design Certification
by freeCodeCamp
When it comes to development, it’s hard to find better courses than on freeCodeCamp. Here you can gain knowledge in various areas and connect with the developers’ community on the Forum.
Besides, all the courses are completely free for everyone.
We’d like to draw your attention to Responsive Web Design Certification. To complete the entire certification, it takes approximately 300 hours. Yes, it’s a lot of work but that’s worth it. It’s the most comprehensive web development course we could find. Here you’ll get everything to kick-start a career in front-end development.
The course covers all the concepts of basic HTML and HTML5, CSS, Applied Visual Design, Applied Accessibility, Responsive Web Design principles, CSS Flexbox, CSS Grid. As a result, you can put your knowledge into practice by creating an educational project on a given topic.
Foundations of Front-End Web Development
by Udemy
This course will help you to lay the ground for web development as well. You’ll walk through the major concepts of HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and jQuery. You’ll even get a chance to master Backbone.js.
Prerequisites: no previous knowledge of the topics is required.
After the completion, you’ll get enough knowledge to become a junior front-end developer. It will be easier for you to approach any resources on web development.
Web Application Development with JavaScript and MongoDB
by Goldsmiths, the University of London on Coursera
This course is a part of the Responsive Website Development specialization and aimed at developing skills in advanced web application programming: building, testing, and deploying mobile-ready web applications from the bottom upwards.
It’s often completed by entrepreneurs, software engineers, data engineers, and technical support associates. During the course, you’ll learn how to control data read and write access, access the database, and use the SimpleSchema system. Besides, you’ll get acquainted with TextCircle – a collaborative code editing environment.
To consolidate what has been learned, you’ll dive into various programming assignments, theoretical and practical quizzes. In the final module, you’ll develop an application using Meteor folders.
Prerequisites: as background knowledge, it’s assumed that you have basic programming skills and basic ideas of ICT concepts.
It takes approximately 19 hours to complete the course. But that’s not a strict requirement – feel free to work at your own pace.
More about web development
If you can’t decide on a framework for your application, dive into this overview of the best front-end frameworks in 2019.
If you are searching for more tutorials and courses for web development, try GitConnected. The main advantage of this resource is that there are plenty of articles and courses collected in a single place. You can filter them by category and choose your perfect match.