The internet has become an essential part of our daily lives, constantly evolving to connect more and more people across the globe. But to understand how the modern web works, you not only need to know about the rise of newer technologies but also the basics of what web pages are and how to construct them.
You can think of the internet as a collection of documents that link out to each other. HTML and CSS are the primary languages used to structure and design these documents, and they represent the foundation upon which the internet is built.
If you want to work in web design, web development, digital marketing, or even machine learning, understanding how to use HTML and CSS would be an invaluable skill in understanding the inner workings of the internet.
Knowing HTML and CSS would save time and money, but the bigger advantage of knowing these languages is the flexibility it provides. Without knowing HTML and CSS, you're largely restricted to using low or no-code platforms like Wix to build your websites. This can be problematic for businesses with highly specific needs. In conjunction with JavaScript, Python, Java, or PHP, knowing HTML and CSS can greatly improve the quality and creativity of your work! You can add whatever features you like too!
Today, we’ll discuss five HTML and CSS online courses and learning paths to get you the hands-on experience needed to launch a career in web development. First, we'll look at beginner resources to ground you in the basics. Then, we'll move on to more advanced topics and intermediate resources to teach you how to add more functionality to your web applications.
Let’s dive right in!
We’ll cover:
1 - Web Development: Unraveling HTML, CSS, and JavaScript
Estimated time to completion: 20 hours
Level: Beginner
This is the perfect course for you if you want a comprehensive understanding of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript basics. There are no prerequisites for this course, therefore, it is excellent for absolute beginners. You can also take this course if you are already a developer and want to brush up on the basics of web development or catch up on the latest technological trends.
In this course, you’ll learn about:
- HTML5 basics
- HTML5 in-depth semantics and structure
- HTML5 web forms
- Document Object Model (DOM)
- JavaScript basics
- Advanced JavaScript
- Introduction to Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)
- Basic CSS style patterns
Strengths of this course
Beginner-friendly: You will get an introductory look at the ecosystem and flow of different web technologies, including the three main components of this course, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
Hands-on JavaScript: In addition to JavaScript basics, you will learn about JavaScript components, serialization, parsing JSON, closures, inheritance, instantiation, and so on.
This knowledge will help you build robust, and full-featured web apps. You can then further enhance your knowledge of this programming language by learning about APIs, JavaScript libraries, and frameworks such as React, Redux, jQuery, and Angular to build web applications.
2- Become a Front End Developer
Estimated time to completion: 20 hours
Level: Beginner
This learning path exposes you to all the tenets required to become a fully-fledged front-end developer! It is a perfect place to start your foray into web development and build beautiful, responsive websites.
This specialization will give you mastery over HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and how to host a website after you have built it from scratch.
In this path, you’ll learn about:
- Introduction to the web
- HTML
- CSS
- JavaScript
- Microservice architecture
- DOM manipulation
- Webhosting
Strengths of this course
Beginner-friendly: This course does not have any prerequisites. This means that anyone from any background can use this course as a first step to entering the world of web development.
Comprehensive: Starting with an introduction to the web, a learner is taken on a step-by-step journey to master front-end web development. The course builds from introductory HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to more advanced topics needed to create your own websites.
3- Fundamentals of Web Programming
Estimated time to completion: 42 hours
Level: Beginner
This learning path provides a more extensive, thorough curriculum for beginners that covers everything from the basics of web programming to network fundamentals. It is a complete web developer bootcamp that will take you all the way from learning basic HTML to repo hosting like Git.
There are six modules that cover a comprehensive overview of web programming with quizzes at the end of each module. It is sufficient to say that you will have a complete software development experience with this learning path
In this path, you’ll learn about:
- Basic programming skills with C++
- Data structures and algorithms in C++
- HTML, CSS, and JS
- Network fundamentals
- Database fundamentals
- Repo hosting service: GitHub
Strengths of this course
No prerequisites required: This holistic learning path introduces you to everything you will need to know prior to learning about web development. This ensures that a learner has sufficient knowledge to tackle more advanced topics later in the course.
Teaches data structures and algorithms: The importance of data structures and algorithms cannot be underestimated. Every beginner who learns web development for career transition or advancement should be familiar with data structures and algorithms because they are the foundation for most technical interviews. Data structures and algorithms in this learning path are taught in C++.
Exposure to C++: The bonus point of this course is that it goes a step ahead and teaches learners C++, which is an extremely powerful language in high demand by many companies today.
4- Web Development with PHP
Estimated time to completion: 50 hours
Level: Beginner to intermediate
This web development learning path introduces you to PHP alongside HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. PHP is a popular programming language used in modern web development frameworks like Laravel, Symfony, and more. Investing time into learning the PHP programming language is an excellent investment.
Furthermore, this learning path will teach you how to integrate your applications with MySQL.
In this path, you'll learn about:
- HTML5, CSS, and JavaScript
- Document Object Model (DOM)
- Introduction to JavaScript
- Advanced JavaScript programming
- PHP from scratch
- Using PHP with MySQL
- Building a CRUD application
Strengths of this course
Perfect for both beginners and intermediate programmers: Because this path introduces you to the basics of web development, you don’t need any prerequisites before starting it. Also, if you are already a web developer and need to brush up on your PHP web development skills, then this course is a great choice because you can skip ahead to the material you want a refresher on.
Introduces you to PHP: Learning web development with PHP is this course's main feature. You will learn how to make a CRUD application and integrate it with MySQL databases at the backend.
5- HTML5 Canvas: From Noob to Ninja - an interactive deep dive
Estimated time to completion: 9 hours
Level: Beginner
Authored by an MIT grad, Kirupa, this course will introduce you to the HTML5 Canvas, which is the HTML drawing surface used to bring interactivity to pixels using JavaScript and helps you create games, animations, and graphs.
In this course, you'll learn about:
- Understanding the basics of Canvas
- Canvas vs DOM
- How to draw shapes
- Canvas transformations and animations
- Advanced mouse and keyboard handling to create superior animations
Strengths of this course
Great for learning graphics and manipulation: This course will introduce you to everything you need to know about HTML5 canvas, which helps you with all your drawing and pixel rendering needs and is fast and flexible.
Short, precise, easy to learn: This course, like its name suggests, will take you from novice to expert within 9 hours as long as you practically apply everything you learn during the course.
Wrapping up and next steps
So, there you go! We hope you had fun learning about what each of these courses and learning paths offers in terms of HTML, CSS, and other web development technologies!
And remember, there is a certificate of completion which you will receive after finishing each one of these courses, which you can use to display on your social media profiles and attract potential employers.
In addition to learning about web technologies and boosting your front-end development skills, you may want to equally sharpen your interview skills. Check out Educative's Ace the Front End Interview learning path to learn about front-end interview prep and other fundamental concepts such as:
- Web development courses and tutorials
- Back-end development
- Full-stack web development
- Responsive web design
- Server-side technologies
Happy learning!
Continue learning about web development on Educative
- How to become a front-end developer in 2022
- How to become a full-stack developer in 2022
- React for Front-End Developers
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Top comments (1)
Many beginners are sure to find these courses useful