10 Great Free Online Courses for Front End Development

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best place to learn front end development

Front end developers design and build websites using HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and other core technologies and they typically enter the field by becoming proficient in several of them.

A career in front end development is a natural offshoot of having the necessary skills and interest in website building to make a go at it professionally. Also called front end engineers, a front end developer is sort of a jack-of-all trades. They need a broad variety of skills to be successful, and should have knowledge of different browsers, operating systems, and devices.

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Disclaimer: Some courses may include an affiliate link. Courses were chosen first based on the methodology with affiliate links only added after the ranking was complete.

Additionally, all front end developers need to adapt to the constantly changing landscape of web design and be prepared to learn new tools and techniques regularly. For this reason, there are free courses in front end development that are suitable for beginners and experienced professionals alike.

We’ve compiled this list of free online courses in front end development after an exhaustive search through some of the world’s best learning resources. The courses are ranked using our own methodology which was developed to help us separate offerings that are just “OK” from those that are truly excellent. They are listed with our top choices at the beginning, but each of these courses is worth looking into.

Ranking 10 Free Online Courses for Front End Development

1. Front End Web Development

Offered by W3Cx via edX

If you are ready to dive headlong into learning, this offering hosted on the edX platform is our top choice for free online courses for front end development. It’s a series of five courses that are part of a professional certificate. To earn the certification, there is a fee involved. However, motivated individuals who don’t mind doing without the piece of paper can take all of the courses at no charge in audit mode and save themselves hundreds of dollars.

There are five comprehensive courses in the learning path:

• CSS Basics

• HTML5 and CSS Fundamentals

• HTML 5 Coding Essentials and Best Practices

• HTML 5 Apps and Games

• Javascript Introduction

The suggested completion time is around seven months for students willing to devote five to seven hours a week to the courses, but this is a flexible time frame and you are only limited by your own schedule and level of self-discipline. Getting started is easy and takes just a few minutes and you can start at any time.

Cost: Free

Certificate: Yes, with a fee

Time to Complete: Seven months

Curriculum: Introductory to Intermediate

User Experience: Excellent

Quality of Instruction: Excellent

Pros:

•Presented by The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) (W3Cx)

•Taught by nine expert instructors from Microsoft, Intel and University Côte d’Azur

•Optional certification with a fee

Cons:

•None

2. Front End Only

Offered by The Odin Project

The Odin Project is an open source platform that is designed to provide top-notch instruction in developing and programming. It was founded in 2013 and is maintained by a group of hard working volunteers. Since its inception, almost 290,000 learners have taken advantage of the free learning resources offered on the Odin Project platform.

Front End Only is a learning path presented on the site. It consists of four online front end development courses altogether:

Web Development 101—31 Lessons

JavaScript—36 lessons

HTML and CSS—30 lessons

Getting Hired—14 lessons

As you can see, it’s a fairly robust offering that takes you through all of the front end curriculum offered on the site. No sign ups necessary, and no commitments. Students can jump in wherever and whenever they want and take the lessons at their own pace.

There is no certification offered on the Odin Project, but their free online courses are industry-recognized so when you’re looking for work it won’t do any harm to mention your experience with Odin. You will learn all the skills needed to build an impressive portfolio of work.

Cost: Free

Certificate: No

Time to Complete: Varies

Curriculum: Introductory to Intermediate

User Experience: Excellent

Quality of Instruction: Excellent

Pros:

• Smooth and easy-to-navigate interface

• A forum where you can interact with other students and get questions answered

• No commitments or sign-ups necessary

Cons:

• None

3. JavaScript and jQuery Survival Guide

Offered by Aquent Gymnasium

For front end developers, understanding JavaScript & jQuery are crucial skills, and this course offered on Aquent Gymnasium is the ideal place to learn them. The Gymnasium is a free online learning platform for creative, digital, and communications professionals to learn practical and in-demand skills that can help them advance in their careers.

There are three comprehensive sections of the course:

Part 1: Getting Started

In this section, you will learn how to install Bower and Gulp so you can automate common front end development tasks. You will also review browser development tools like JavaScript console so you learn how to develop a workflow. You will also look closer at JavaScript expressions as you prepare for the next two sessions.

Part 2: Managing Events

Handling events is a fundamental task for front end web development, so you will start with the basics of events and event handlers before moving on to anonymous functions and event binding methods. Toward the end, you will have a more in-depth look at how to create and add interactive forms for improving user experience.

Part 3: DOM Manipulation With JQuery

In the final lesson, In this lesson, you will learn how to modify parts of a page using jQuery. This will be accomplished by learning to dynamically modify CSS styles. You will then learn how to inject HTML content into a document and cover some basic animation techniques to enhance the user interface of your page.

Signing up for the free online front development course is easy, and upon successful completion of the final exam (you need to score 85% or better) you will earn a certificate that can be found by accessing your dashboard.

Cost: Free

Certificate: Yes

Time to Complete: Varies

Curriculum: Intermediate

User Experience: Excellent

Quality of Instruction: Excellent

Pros:

•Free certification!

•Taught by freelance front end web developer Kevin Chisholm

•Engaging and interesting

Cons:

•You should have a basic understanding of Text editors, HTML, CSS and Javascript before enrolling

4. Foundations of Front End Web Development

Offered by Udemy

If you are considering a career in front end development, this free 20-hour course is tailor made for you. Taken by over 100,000 students, it is well rated and will give you a solid understanding of all the basics related to front end development. Upon completion, you should have the practical knowledge and necessary tools to start interviewing for a job, create a single-page web app, or even begin freelancing.

There are 13 sections in all, filled with over 100 lectures and on-demand videos. The free online course will cover:

• Semantic HTML

• CSS

• Responsive Web Development

• Javascript, Ajax and jQuery

• Backbone.js

• Unit Testing

Taught by Davide Molin, Owner at CodingShack Ltd., it is completely free to take in audit mode. Students who would like a completion certificate and instructor direct-messaging can upgrade for a fee.

Cost: Free

Certificate: Yes, with a fee

Time to Complete: 20 hours

Curriculum: Introductory

User Experience: Excellent

Quality of Instruction: Excellent

Pros:

•Instructor is a self-taught developer, just like you!

•Highly reviewed by those who have taken the course

•Comprehensive

Cons:

•Certification is an additional fee

5. Learn jQuery

Offered by Solo Learn

Aspiring front end developers will eventually want to learn jQuery to simplify some of the most common JavaScript programming tasks. This free online course from Solo Learn covers all the basics. It is interactive and features 26 lessons and 75 quizzes in an easy-to-follow format. You can download it on Google Play, the App store, or complete it right on your browser.

Over 500,000 students have taken this jQuery course on Solo Learn, which is a totally free resource for learning programming and coding skills. Students will learn:

• Attributes

• Content and CSS Manipulations

• DOM

• Events

• Effects

• Animations

When taken in the app, you can have a little fun with this course by practicing various exercises that will earn you points. Upon completion of this online front end development course, you will be eligible for a certificate to show off your skills. An advantage of taking a free online HTML course on Solo Learn is there is a helpful community forum where you can interact with fellow students.

• Cost: Free

• Certificate: Yes

• Time to Complete: Varies

• Curriculum: Introductory to Intermediate

• User Experience: Excellent

• Quality of Instruction: Excellent

Pros:

• Interface is well-organized and easy to use

• Ideal for those who are motivated by earning a certificate

• Engaging and interesting

Cons:

• None

6. Front-End Web Development with React

Offered by Hong Kong University of Science and Technology via Coursera

This MOOC from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology is an excellent choice for beginners interested in front end development using React. React is an open-source Javascript library that helps developers build user interfaces.

The free online front end development course is taught by Associate Professor Jogesh K. Muppala and has been taken by over 54,000 students. It is four weeks long and takes around 44 hours to complete. It’s packed full of on-demand videos, quizzes, readings, and lectures to help you master the materials. The course is free to take in audit mode, but students who need a certificate can access one by paying for an optional upgrade.

Cost: Free

Certificate: Yes, with a fee

Time to Complete: Four weeks

Curriculum: Introductory to Intermediate

User Experience: Excellent

Quality of Instruction: Excellent

Pros:

•Go at your own pace

•Perfect for those who want a solid foundation in React

•Highly rated by over 96% of previous students

Cons:

•Certification is part of the paid program of Coursera

7. Front-End Web UI Frameworks and Tools: Bootstrap 4

Offered by Hong Kong University of Science and Technology via Coursera

This free front end development course is also offered by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and hosted on the Coursera learning platform. Taught by Associate Professor Jogesh K. Muppala, it introduces students to Bootstrap 4, a client-side web UI framework.

The course is intended for students who already have practical experience with HTML, CSS and JavaScript. It covers Bootstrap (Front-End Framework), Node.Js, Jquery, and SASS (Stylesheet Language). Upon completion, students will be able to:

• Set up, design and style a web page using Bootstrap 4

• Create a responsive web page design

• Make use of a variety of web tools to set up and manage websites.

The online front end devleopment course can be completed in approximately 38 hours and is free to take in audit mode. Students who would like to earn their certification can pay for an optional upgrade.

Cost: Free

Certificate: Yes, with a fee

Time to Complete: 38 hours

Curriculum: Intermediate

User Experience: Excellent

Quality of Instruction: Excellent

Pros:

•Taught by a highly-rated instructor

•Perfect for those who want to dig into Bootstrap 4

•Part of the Full-Stack Web Development with React Specialization

Cons:

•Certificate only offered at the paid level of Coursera

8. Become a Front-End Web Developer

Offered by LinkedIn Learning

Students who have a LinkedIn premium account may not know that the platform maintains a catalog of thousands of courses that users can take at no cost. Those without a premium account can upgrade for a free one month trial and take advantage of this course offering. It features 34 hours of expert-created content divided into 13 easy-to-follow sessions and covers:

• CSS, JavaScript, and jQuery

• Basic version control with Git and GitHub

• Best practices in responsive design and progressive enhancement

You will learn about how to succeed in full-stack and front end development, the fundamentals of web programming, and the ins and outs of UX design, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Github, Bootstrap, Sass, and React. This free online course in front end development is taught by 10 industry experts and students who complete it will earn a badge of completion that can be displayed on their LinkedIn profile page.

Cost: Free Try a free trial for Linkedin Learning.

Certificate: Yes

Time to Complete: 10-15 hours

Curriculum: Introductory

User Experience: Excellent

Quality of Instruction: Excellent

Pros:

•Start whenever and wherever you want

•Industry-recognized

•Completion badge at no charge

Cons:

•Students who opt for the trial need to remember to cancel before the month is up to avoid being charged.

9. Front End Web Development

Offered by Treehouse

Treehouse is a popular platform for tech industry training. Although the cost to participate in their online training is $25 monthly, they offer a free seven-day trial so you can try it out before you commit. If you are super motivated, this Front End Web Development Course can be completed for free before your trial is over.

The learning track is 57 hours long and consists of 29 lessons. In it, you will learn the fundamentals of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. But in addition to these basics, the free online front end development course covers:

• Responsive and Flexbox layouts

• Forms

• Intro to Git

• Javascript loops, arrays, and objects

• Bootstrap 4

• HTML tables, video and audio

• Ajax basics

• Fetch API

This is just a small sampling of some of the things you will learn. Upon completion, you will have all the skills you need to build websites for yourself or others, so this course could really propel you into a new career in a short amount of time.

To sign up, you will need to provide your credit card information, and this is the major downside to Treehouse. However, if you have the self-discipline to complete your course in a week and can remember to cancel before the trial is up to avoid being charged, this is still a great option. (Heck, it’s a great deal at $25 monthly, too!

Cost: Free for one week

Certificate: Yes

Time to Complete: 57 hours

Curriculum: Introductory to Intermediate

User Experience: Excellent

Quality of Instruction: Excellent

Pros:

•Prepares students to build responsive and professional websites

•Industry-recognized training

•Organized and self-paced

Cons:

•Free trial is short and students will need to cancel before it’s over to avoid fees.

10. React JS Front End Web Development for Beginners

Offered by Udemy

In this short course offered on the Udemy platform, students will learn React JS and Modern JavaScript starting from scratch. There are four sections and 35 lessons covering everything you need to know to build fast apps including:

• Modern JavaScript

• React JS

• React Hooks

• External API

• AJAX requests

• How to build a news app

The course is highly rated and has been taken by almost 37,00 students. It is taught by Web Developer Ryan Dhungel and is the perfect way to learn React JS in less than a day.

Cost: Free

Certificate: No

Time to Complete: Self-paced

Curriculum: Introductory

User Experience: Good

Quality of Instruction: Good

Pros:

•A good overview of React JS

•Easy sign-up with no commitments

•Developed and taught by an industry expert

Cons:

•Too short

Frequently Asked Questions About Free Online Courses for Front End Development

When you’re looking at a great web page, it’s hard to imagine the amount of work and effort that went into building it, but for front end developers, a perfectly-designed website or page is like a finished painting—a masterpiece of sorts. For these individuals, designing and developing websites and applications is their art. And like all artists, some are more skilled than others.

To succeed in the digital landscape, it’s not enough to know how to throw a webpage together. Developers need to provide their clients with sites that are engaging, visually appealing, and easy for their customers to navigate. To do this requires a special set of skills that comes with education and experience, and free online front end development courses can provide you with a bit of both.

In this next section, we will answer some frequently asked questions related to courses in front end development and to the field in general.

Do I Have What It Takes to Be a Front End Developer?

Soft Skills

If you are eying a career in front end development, one of the biggest soft skills you should have is love and respect for the art of web development. While this may sound a little corny, front end developers really need to love what they do in order to succeed. Remember, just because it’s a digital field doesn’t mean it’s not creative.

Beyond that, understanding the needs of the customer and the ability to communicate clearly and effectively is a big plus, as is being able to get well along with others. Many projects in front end development require a team-approach, so you should be comfortable interacting with other professionals regularly.

You will also be multitasking a lot, moving between browsers, operating systems, devices, and different technologies. So you need to feel confident that you can handle more than one task at a time.

Must Have Technology Skills

Becoming a front end developer means you will need to master a number of technology skills. You may have already gathered that you absolutely must be proficient in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript; without a solid working knowledge of these technologies you will never get your career off the ground. However, there are other skills employers look for too. While you don’t need to be an expert in every one of them, you should try to learn a little about each of them including:

• Jquery

• Frameworks

• CSS Preprocessing

• Version Control/Git

• Responsive Design

• Testing/Debugging

• Browser Developer Tools

• Building and Automation Tools

• Web Performance

• Command Line

• Wireframing

• Search Engine Optimization

• User Experience

• Animation

Keep in mind this is not a full list. Front end development skills and tools number in the hundreds, with each developer finding their own niche over time.

What Are Some of Career Titles in Front-End Development?

Front end job titles vary, but here are some of the more common positions in the field:

Front-End Developer

This is the generic title that describes a professional who has a grasp on implementing HTML DOM JavaScript and CSS to develop websites and web pages.

Front End Engineer

A front end engineer will have all the skills of a developer with additional training in engineering or computer science. Often, they will also have software development experience as well.

JavaScript Developer

This is a front end developer that has advanced JavaScript programming and development skills.

Front End Web Designer

This title refers to those who have front end development skills along with professional design skills

Front-End UI Developer/Engineer

This is a front end developer or engineer who also possesses skills in user interface design.

Mobile/Tablet Front-End Developer

This title indicates that the candidate is experienced in front end development for mobile devices.

Front-End SEO Expert

A front end SEO Expert works on designing web pages and apps that employ SEO techniques.

Front-End Testing/QA

This title refers to a front end developer that has experience testing and managing software.

Full-Stack Developer

This is a person who is responsible for all aspects of web development including front end development, back end development, and web design.

As you can see, there are many different career paths you can take as a front end designer, and each of these titles also encompasses more specialized positions.Salaries for professional front end designers range from $48k – $110k annually according to Payscale.com.

How Long Does it Take to Learn Front End Development?

The free online front end development courses on our list can take anywhere from a few hours to a few months. However, it’s important to note that learning front end development is a slow and steady path. This Is not a skill that is mastered overnight. While our course offerings can get you started or help you hone your front end development skills, you should be prepared for constant learning throughout your career.

You will probably learn new front end development skills every day, whether you are just starting out or are an experienced veteran in the field. Because new technologies are constantly emerging, the willingness to acquire new skills on an ongoing basis is crucial and will increase your earning power as time passes.