The Guide I Wish I Had When I Started Learning to Code

Coding has exploded in recent years, changing from something used in computer games and the occasional electronic device, to something which shapes the way that we live in the modern world. This means that now is an excellent time for learning how to code for beginners.

Pretty much every device, electronic item, and modern piece of machinery contains at least a little bit of code. As the number of use cases for coding grows, the number of coding jobs available will also continue to grow.

We will begin by defining what coding is and why you should learn it. After this, we will move into a step-by-step guide to coding for dummies.

What Is Coding?
To start with, we need to define what coding is. Most programmers would agree that coding is:

‘The act of writing code that is compiled to form programs, that can be executed by a computer or a code reader, and that has a specific function or set of functions.’

Now, this definition is quite broad. In reality, exactly what we mean by coding will depend on what sort of coding we are referring to.

For example, a web developer writes code that is used to build responsive, functioning websites. In this sense, coding is creating the best possible website.

However, someone who works in navigation and aerospace engineering might be required to write code that lets an airplane run on autopilot during long journeys. Although this is entirely different from building a website, it is still coding.

Before you start looking for the answers to “How to code for beginners”, you, therefore, need to think carefully about what sort of coding you would like to do.

This will dictate the languages that you choose to learn and how you learn them — but more on that later. For now, let’s move on to a quick look at why you should start learning how to write code for beginners.

Why Should I Learn To Code?
The present world is dealing with a large number of applications. Every single application and software is coded using various programming languages. In a short period of time, coding and programming have helped solve complex problems without any risk.

Coding and programming skills also help in improving communication and collaboration skills. The applications and every implementation developed using coding are helpful in every sector.

In the quest of learning how to code, we now enter into the next segment where we will go through some resources on how to start coding.

What Languages Should You Learn?
Coding requires knowledge of at least one coding language, a set of syntax and rules that computers can understand. There are hundreds of coding languages, each one unique in its purpose and what it can do.

But, some languages are easier to learn than others — these are best to start with since they’re the fastest way to learn the fundamentals of programming.

Below are some languages widely considered suitable for beginner coders. I recommend getting comfortable with just one language that aligns with your goals, then exploring others if you feel inclined.

Don’t worry about choosing the wrong one, though. These languages share underlying concepts, so you can start with one and switch to another if you need.

HTML & CSS
Hypertext Markup Language, or HTML, is the foundation of the internet — it’s used to set the content of web pages. When you load a web page, typically what you see is an HTML document rendered by your browser.

If you’re unsure whether coding is your thing, HTML is the easiest language to sample. This is because HTML isn’t technically a programming language — it doesn’t execute scripts and you can’t build functional programs with it. Still, HTML is everywhere online, so if you want to understand the internet, you’ll first need to understand HTML.

You might be less familiar with HTML’s sibling language, CSS. HTML handles what content appears on a web page, but doesn’t affect how that content appears. This is where Cascading Style Sheets, or CSS, come in. The CSS language handles the styling of HTML — it sets features like colors, sizing, fonts, and even entire page layouts.

CSS is also not a programming language. It is a set of rules applied to HTML. HTML and CSS are almost always used together, so I recommended learning both. Otherwise, your web pages will look rather plain.

HTML and CSS are easy to learn largely because they don’t require you to think through the computational logic of programming languages. Learning HTML and CSS can also feel less abstract than other languages since you see the results of your code quickly — simply create a .html file and open it in your browser. Or, open an existing website and use your inspect tool to peek at the underlying code. This makes it possible to learn two languages you use every day, in a day.

JavaScript
JavaScript is a programming language that turns static web pages into dynamic ones. It enables page elements to do things like move, reacts to user actions like clicks, and handle any operation beyond simply existing on the page.

If you’re interested in web development and already have a feel for HTML and CSS, JavaScript is the next step. Together, these three languages make up the majority of web content you see. Plus, JavaScript code can be easily tested in your browser.

Python
Python is a very popular programming language for beginners because of its user-friendly syntax and versatility. Much of Python code reads like English, which helps beginners better quickly grasp fundamental concepts like functions.

Python also has many code libraries and groups of pre-built functions that you can plug into your code instead of writing them out yourself. With Python, you can build many different types of programs, and many introductory courses base their projects on this language.

C/C++
C is another popular choice for introductory courses. It’s wordier than Python and often requires beginners to write more code to achieve the same things. This is more work, but useful for understanding abstract concepts. With C, you’ll learn skills that can be easily applied to other, more succinct languages.

C++ is a successor to C. C++ syntax is similar to C with the addition of objects, a powerful variable type that makes programming sophisticated applications easier. I recommend beginning with C, though, since there are fewer concepts to learn, all of which can be mapped to C++.

Java
Java (not to be confused with JavaScript) is a general-purpose object-oriented programming language. Like Python, Java’s syntax is easy to read and understand by human programmers — often, complex tasks can be handled by one command.

Java is popularly implemented in android mobile applications and is another great base language with principles that can be intuitively applied to learning other languages.

Step By Step Guide To Coding For Dummies
Although coding is relatively easy to learn compared to a lot of other technical skills, it is still something that scares people.

At first glance, it may seem complicated, confusing, and very, very hard to master. I mean, how do you go about learning how to code a website if you have no programming experience whatsoever?

The answer is simple — you follow our step-by-step guide to learning how to code for beginners! By the end of this guide, you should have a clear understanding of the steps that are required if you want to become a programmer, along with the things that you can do to help fast-track your journey.

Step 1: Work Out Why You Want To Learn How To Code

Step 2: Choose The Right Languages

Step 3: Choose The Right Resources To Help You Learn

Step 4: Download A Code Editor

Step 5: Practice Writing Your Programs

Step 6: Join An Online Community

Step 7: Hack Someone Else’s Code

Step 8: Keep Learning

Some Tips for Beginners
Clearly, there are many ways to approach the practice of coding, and some methods and languages will work better for you than others. No matter what or how you learn, however, remember these tips:

Be patient.
At the top of this post, I said that anyone can learn to code. That doesn’t mean it’s easy. Coding requires you to approach problems in ways you haven’t before. Certain topics may seem completely nonsensical to you, yet central to the language you’re learning. Problems that might seem easy at first will end up being far more complex to implement than you expected — you’ll spend hours hacking away at an assignment to no avail.

Know your tools.
You’re going to be spending a lot of time staring at your screen, so be sure to reserve time for getting comfortable with your coding tools.

All beginner languages require a text editor, the software you use to write your code. Text editors include features to make coding easier like color coding, auto-complete, find-and-replace, and dark mode. Notepad++, Sublime Text, and Emacs are popular text editors for beginners.

Get comfortable with the fundamentals.
As with any topic, the early days of learning a programming language are all about the essentials. You might start by learning binary, data types, and how to print to the console. From there, you’ll explore topics like variables, functions, conditional logic, arrays, and objects.

It’s essential that you fully grasp each of these concepts before advancing, as everything you learn in computer science builds on topics that come before. If something doesn’t make sense, review it until it does — don’t assume it will make sense in the context of future lessons.

Google is your friend.
There’s no shame in Googling the solutions to problems. In fact, professional developers do it all the time. If you’re struggling, someone’s probably been in the same situation and dropped a question to a forum. You’d be surprised at how specific your queries can be while still finding a solution.

Plus, it’s quite satisfying to close 20 tabs of Stack Exchange after finally fixing a stubborn bug.