Free Online Programming Lessons for Beginners

Where is a good place to start for novice programmers? A lot of people are interested in learning how to "code", but don't have the resources nor the money to pay for tech school tuition. The good news is that beginners can learn to program as long as they are eager to learn. If you feel you are capable of teaching yourself how to program online, then here are some resources you can begin with:

W3 Schools

W3 Schools has been to me the mother of coding tutorials ever since I was still working as copywriter in a media company five years ago. Back then, the site designed purely for online users seeking to learn how to program online. Today, they have done some changes, but they still have all the information you need as a beginning programmer. You can learn anything from HTML to PHP to browser scripting and multimedia. If you are really looking forward to working professionally as a programmer, getting certified at W3 Schools is worth taking the effort. The program costs $95.

Pick a Tutorial

If you haven't checked out this free programming lessons online resource, then you're in for a treat. The site is neatly designed so that beginners can simply click on the programming tutorial that they wish to learn on the left panel of the screen. Any link to a programming resource has a description so you know what you're getting into. And did I mention it's free?

Free Programming Resources

Anything from basic programming to Ruby or Visual Basic is listed here. Each link will lead you to another group of invaluable resource that you can use to learn how to program online. It's amazing how much information this website packs in a small place. You can even read previously published programming books here.

Education Online for Computers

Programming tutorials in this website are divided between free and membership-based. Of course, since we are talking about free programming lessons online here, you would opt for the free version, until you feel that it is time to sign up as member and learn more advanced programs.

Freetutes.com

Freetutes focuses on Visual Basic, one of the most popular programming languages used today. If this is your cup of tea, you will definitely learn a lot of useful information in this website. Studying programming lessons online takes a lot of initiative and motivation, so if you're looking for answers to your school homework, emailing the staff of Freetutes is not a good idea!

Java Coffee Break

Ever wonder how you make all those highly interactive flash game websites? Most of the time, these websites are created through multimedia and Java scripting. You can learn free java programming lessons online here at Java Coffee Break (pun intended?). The lessons are very simple and straightforward. Navigating the website does not take a heavy learning curve, plus you get to read some book reviews that pertain to both Java and multimedia programming issues. I suggest you go straight to the tutorials link or browse the menu on the left panel of the site.

Many novice or wannabe programmers are not aware that they can actually learn how to "code" with the help of free programming lessons on the Internet. If your library does not have the books that you need to teach yourself, the Internet is one great place to explore.