What is the Fastest Way to Learn Web Development?

There are times when time is of the essence, and you need to learn a new skill quickly. Perhaps you need a skill to complete a project or to solve a problem you’ve been presented with. Or maybe you need to start a new career now for a better future. There are many reasons to want to learn web development quickly, so it’s helpful to be clear on your goals and know why you want to learn web development skills. It’s a growing field with a lot of room for creativity and innovation. Likewise, there are ways to fast track your learning web development. Remember that fast can be several days or a few months, depending on your timeline. If you’re interested in the fastest ways to learn web development, this article will answer your questions and offer insight into scopes of learning and proficiency levels. 

Free Resources: Just the Basics

If you’re only looking for a basic education in web development, like the fundamentals of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, free online resources are a great option. They’re easily accessible and fast. Free resources that teach just the basics are the absolute fastest way to get started. When you’re trying to get the basics of how to work with web development tools like Git and Bootstrap, you can go directly to these sites for articles and videos to learn how to use them. Novices find these types of resources valuable when trying to quickly learn a tool to begin experimenting with it. Noble Desktop offers free seminars, YouTube has a vast library of video tutorials, and there are many blogs dedicated to web development that can be leveraged to gain foundational knowledge quickly. Some training centers, including Noble Desktop, offer prospective students free course samples to help them get a better understanding of what enrolling in a course with them will be like. 

There are many reasons to want to access free web development resources. Perhaps a course you want to enroll in has a prerequisite, free resources may help you gain that foundational knowledge. You may have run into a problem in a project you’re working on and need some help navigating the solution. You may want to experiment with software, tools, or techniques or figure out if web development is the right career path for you. Many books and free online classes exist to help you meet your learning goals, however large or small. Oftentimes, free classes are relatively short, focus on a single topic, and don’t get too in-depth or cover advanced methods.

Introductory Classes: For Students Wanting to Become Comfortable with Web Development

Do you feel like a more immersive education at a comfortable pace would be better aligned with your goals? An introductory course from a tech training center like Noble Desktop is a great place to start. Classes can focus on individual or groups of applications like Bootstrap, Git, and Flexbox or a coding language like JavaScript. These shorter classes typically last up to a week and focus on teaching you the essentials. It’s not uncommon for busy professionals to gain a new skill on a weekend through introductory classes. Students can get a better understanding of web development elements without a major time commitment. Because of their brevity, the classes tend to be offered more frequently and have more flexible enrollment schedules than more in-depth courses. 

Introductory courses focus on the fundamentals. There are basic skills and tools that all web developers need to know, regardless of the industry they work in or the project they're assigned to. Those looking to learn more about the theoretical and historical aspects of web development should consider classes that focus less on its technical and practical applications. Also, keep in mind that introductory classes aren’t designed to get you ready for an entry-level position at the end of the class. You will need to take more advanced classes before you are job-ready. 

Certificate Granting Programs: For Aspiring Professionals

A certificate program or bootcamp is the fastest way to get in-depth training in web development that also prepares students for an entry-level web developer position. While classes like these are immersive and intensive, they do take several weeks on average to complete on a full-time schedule (attending on a part-time schedule is usually a few short months). When you compare that to the time cost of a years-long college degree, a certificate-granting program offered by training centers like Noble Desktop that spans a few weeks is fast. If you’re an aspiring web development professional, then a certificate program should be at the top of your list. They provide an opportunity to learn the technical skills necessary for web development, including JavaScript, cybersecurity, databases, and tech stacks. They also help you build a strong portfolio of work to demonstrate your knowledge to prospective employers.

Many of these programs are beginner-friendly and are a balance between foundational and intermediate courses. Course content is centered around solving real-world web development problems, learning relevant, in-demand skills, and job readiness. This middle ground allows students to finish the course with the professional skills needed to start a career. You won’t get an education in computer science theory like you would if you enrolled in a college or university degree program, but you also won’t have to spend two to six years pursuing a degree. Instead, you’ll be getting an immersive education that allows you to hit the ground running in a relatively short amount of time. If your goal is professional development or employment, a certificate program may be your best option.

On-Demand Courses

On-demand or self-paced courses are popular because they allow students with tight or unpredictable schedules to learn web development when their schedule allows. Although these prerecorded courses do not offer a live instructor, they do allow students to learn web development skills quickly. On-demand courses are transparent about how many hours of class material are offered, but the amount of time any student takes to cover that material will vary widely because lessons can be started, stopped, rewound, and fast-forwarded at will. With little accountability, students who opt for this learning format often procrastinate or completely give up on the program. If you’re interested in an on-demand web development course, you need to set a schedule for yourself and reevaluate your study habits to better ensure your success. 

In general, on-demand classes are great for students who need to learn a specific, beginner, or intermediate skill quickly. They tend not to work well for those who already have some experience in web development but need instruction on specific skills. An example would be going to Udemy or MasterClass for a course on React of Python. On-demand classes are an excellent way to pick up necessary skills and to help you overcome specific difficulties you are having in your projects or training very quickly, but they are likely to be significantly slower than web development classes taught by live instructors if you are looking to get a more complete education.

Learn Web Development Skills with Noble Desktop

Noble Desktop has a variety of courses and programs that can help you get into web development relatively quickly. If you’re looking for in-depth, professional training that will get you job-ready in a matter of weeks, consider enrolling in this 420-hour Full Stack Web Development Certificate bootcamp. It’s a beginner-friendly program with a project-based curriculum that teaches you how to code websites from scratch while helping you build a professional portfolio to demonstrate your knowledge and skills. This course covers HTML, CSS, JavaScript, front end development, back end development, Bootstrap, and MongoDB. There are full-time and part-time options available, flexible financing, and you’ll have access to ten 1-on-1 mentoring sessions.

For a shorter program that can fastrack you into a career in back end web development, check out this Python Developer Certificate. You’ll learn how to code with Python to begin a career in software engineering, Python development, or back end development. This 90-hour bootcamp will take you from beginner to professional in a relatively short time, while also helping you build your professional portfolio. You’ll learn how to use the web framework Django for back end programming and Python programming fundamentals. Enrolling in this bootcamp requires that you already know the basics of HTML and CSS.

If you’re interested in getting a quick introduction to web development, Web Development with HTML & CSS is a great entry point. It’s a three-day hands-on course designed to help students with no background in web development or coding start building websites from scratch. You’ll learn how to markup and style content, create professional-level, multi-page websites, and use browser development tools. This is a simple introduction that can get you started coding websites, but if your goal is to become a web development professional, advanced training from Noble Desktop will be necessary.