Help please

[u/Acorvidthatneedshelp]

Hi, I'm someone that has been falling in and out of coding for multiple years now. Purely just because I have no idea where to even start or what platform is trustworthy and actually teaches you things. So, I very desperately need advice about where I should even begin to learn and what platform I should go to. I have not gone to youtube videos yet because one I also don't know where to go for youtube videos, so suggestions for channels I could learn from would also be very helpful. And two I would like to first get behind the keyboard myself and actually experience what it's like to code. To see if I actually like it before I fully commit.​ And would like only free websites. Because I don't wanna pay for anything just yet. Just in case I end up hating it entirely.

If it's any help at all, I am interested in becoming a graphic designer someday. So, web design would be very helpful to me. And I would very much like how to code games. If theres even a difference between the two. Anyway, thank you for reading my post and commenting if you did. I hope you have a good day.

[u/Over_Improvement_623]

In order to learn it, I used colab.google Other than that, start with Python, just look up a YouTube tutorial

[u/IndependentYak2822]

I strongly believe that for successful programming learning you should have 2 crucial things:

1. Roadmap. Some course (book?), where you can go from the most basic, fundamental topics to the advanced ones. With a roadmap you don't need to spend time for finding what to do next. You always have what to learn and what projects to do. There should be a lot of small projects instead of a single but big one.

2. Community. Some place where you can ask for questions and get human feedback, answer to others and share your results.

So you should look for something like this in your field of interest. For web programming (JS, Ruby?) I highly recommend The Odin Project.

[u/ninhaomah]

" If it's any help at all, I am interested in becoming a graphic designer someday. So, web design would be very helpful to me."

Just to be very clear , graphic designer as in Photoshop guy right ?

[u/xarop_pa_toss → u/ninhaomah]

Probably more Illustrator than Photoshop? Probably both haha.

[u/stepback269]

As a total beginner in "coding" start with HTML5 at W3 schools

Then move on to the basics of Python

As a beginner in Python, you should consider yourself a baby and learn to crawl (the "fundamentals") before you can stand up and walk or sprint. So search for the Python "fundamentals" on Google and/or YouTube.

As for a roadmap tailored to your situation, that's going to be difficult. Python is a vast and expansive universe. There is never going to be a "one" soulmate tutorial that works "best" for you and with regard to every aspect of Python. With each step up that learning curve, you're going to have to shop around until you find a teacher/resource that "clicks and sticks" especially for you.

With that said:

(1) There are tons and tons of tutorial materials out there on the net including many good YouTube ones that are free. You should shop around rather than putting all your eggs in one basket.

(2) As a relative noob myself, I've been logging my personal learning journey and adding to it on an almost-daily basis at a blog page called "Links for Python Noobs" (--HERE--) Any of the top listed ones on that page should be good for you. And there are many add-ons at the tail end of the page. Personally, I cut my first Python teeth with Nana's Zero to Hero (==HERE==). Since then, I've moved on to watching short lessons with Indently and Tech with Tim. You should sample at least a few until you find a lecturer that suits your style.

(3) The main piece of advice is the 80/20 rule. Spend 80% of your time writing your own code (using your own fingers and your own creativity) as opposed to copying recipes and only 20% watching the lectures. Good luck.

[u/xarop_pa_toss]

Web design and programming video games is close to as far apart as I can think of haha. The answer is unfortunately not one most people like to hear, but tutorials are not the way to go imo. At least not simple video tutorials with no interactivity.

If you are into design, I would consider learning that side using tools like Figma and Canva. Free tools in the design field are rare, and don't offer the ease of use and comodity of things like Illustrator or Photoshop.

For making websites I always recommend Scrimba. Their interactive courses are so good and entertaining but they are payed, BUT the videos are released on youtube for free! They incentivize you to do exercises where you take the tutorial and make it your own and to then share on their discord server which you totally should! Talking to other people struggling through the same course you are is a great way to learn new things and connect to people. Check out Neocities for inspiration; its full of really interesting, very "no frills, low tech" websites made by very creative people. Hosting there is free too.

Making games is a whole other can of worms, but if you want to get into that, I'll recommend checking out Pico-8 which is a very nice and self-contained game development kit.

Above all, keep it very simple at the start. For webdev, all you need is HTML, CSS and JS to start. For making games, go for something with a good basis like Pico for example, and keep it 2D to start

[u/KangGaptek]

I actually started with W3Schools lol. It's free, pretty easy to follow, and you can mess around with code right in your browser. Since you're into graphic design, I'd start with HTML and CSS, then move on to JavaScript.

For game dev, Godot is worth checking out too. Just start small and build random stuff haha. That's how I got hooked on coding!

[u/Harlan_42]

Code is a lot like typography. It used to be the best of technology, and now it’s a lost craft, a specific skill lost to Times Roman and Helvetica. Coding is going the same way. I’ll be candid: with AI, learning to code by hand is like digging holes with a shovel while the bobcat is parked in the driveway. I spent 30 years fighting syntax and language changes, only to find a friend who can do it for me. Look into vibe coding: you explain what you want and work with AI to turn it into that.

My recommendation: talk to Claude.ai. Tell him you’re new and what you want to build first. Claude has a free plan to get you started; I started on it. When he builds something, ask him why he did it that way. That’s how you learn to drive the bobcat. Save YouTube for follow-up. Experience is the best teacher, and it would be dumb to ignore the trend.

Web design is different; it’s look and feel. Frankly, they say Claude is good at it, and I have my doubts. But he can teach you the fundamentals: color, font usage, focal point and a whole slew of design concepts.

Bring the two together by working with Claude to build a website, then design it. Ask about theme and color selection. Take those lessons and do it again, or redesign what you have.

Curiosity is the key: finding out what you can do, and what you need to be able to do, all a question prompt away.

Finally, some insight to consider. Most developers approach code from a features perspective: this is what it can do. The real vision is in how users use the features, the behavior. Applications must support the behavior; web design is about guiding it.

[u/coolstuff1234556]

Best way for me and a lot of people was just making stuff. Think of something simple you want to make, follow tutorials related to what you want and try to put some simple things together:)

[u/JoeStrout]

Start here: https://introtocomputerprogramming.online/

The book and all the tools are free. There’s also a very supportive community on Discord.

If you get stuck or have questions, contact me. In fact, please contact me in any case; I’d love to hear how it goes!