The 10 Best Free Full-Stack Developer Courses

If you’re interested in a career of building websites and apps, you might want to consider becoming a full-stack developer. Previously, website building required at least two specialists, usually someone to work on the front end and someone knowledgeable about the back end. Now it’s more common for one person to work on the entire thing. This person is known as a full-stack web developer. They are capable of working on the front and back end as well as on databases.

To become a full-stack developer, you would need to gain skills in numerous programming languages and databases. The knowledge base and specialization between one full-stack developer and another may vary, and it’s not necessary to know every single language. Nonetheless, common programming languages to learn for a full-stack education include HTML, CSS, JavaScript and possibly JQuery and Bootstrap for the front end; PHP, Python, Ruby on Rails and NodeJS for the back end; and databases MySQL, MongoDB, CouchDB and Hadoop.

Training courses can help you gain knowledge in these web languages, whether you learn them through numerous courses or one full-stack developer course that gives you a basis in everything. Fortunately, you can find free courses in full-stack development to become skilled in this field without needing to come up with payments while schooling or building up school debt.

Here is our list of the 10 best free online full-stack developer courses.

Become a Full-Stack Web Developer

This course is offered by Lynda.com from LinkedIn. It offers full-stack skills in both front and back end programming, whereas some courses offer only a partial education. You can gain free access to the course by getting a free one-month trial of a Lynda.com membership. Many libraries also offer Lynda courses for free with a library card.

This is a comprehensive course that teaches HTML, CSS and JavaScript for the front end; Node.js, Ruby on Rails and more for the back end; database training such as SQL; and other important web development topics. Each course is an hour or more, with the 17 courses adding up to 43 hours of tutorials.

You learn from a long list of web development experts how to create dynamic websites and work with databases, host configurations and servers. Certification is available through Lynda.com.

The Essential Web Developer Course

This is a comprehensive full-stack web development course offered by Upskill. It’s completely free to join and take the course, although you can access additional information on web development and related topics if you choose to pay for a pro membership. This free course gives an in-depth education on full-stack development, with both front- and back-end concepts included.

On the front end, you learn HTML, CSS, JavaScript, JQuery and Bootstrap. On the back end, you learn Ruby on Rails. You also gain knowledge on databases, servers and related skills. This course encompasses 196 lessons and is growing. You have the option to take each lesson in order or skip around to the ones that would interest or benefit you most. It’s easy to use it as a full course in full-stack development or to choose lessons to fill knowledge gaps you currently have in your full-stack career.

Learning Tracks

Bento provides a full-stack web development curriculum for free. It was created by top developers and is available for self-taught education. You simply watch and learn from the curated tutorials offered on the website. You can take the full selection or pick and choose the ones that fit your needs.

Bento offers a front-end course on building a basic website and another front-end tutorial designed to elevate your skill level. It also has a back-end tutorial on building smart applications. Many other specific tutorials are offered including some on databases, web fundamentals, specific programming languages including HTML and jQuery, and other topics.

Full-Stack Course

App Academy offers a free plan to access its full-stack course. You would only need to pay a fee if you decide you would like mentorship or would like to take the software engineering track. Otherwise, this is a free course if you’re okay with self-study and skipping some of the perks of the other options. It’s a good option because you get to access the same curriculum without the cost.

This option gives you a complete full-stack understanding through a structured course rather than piecemeal options. The estimated completion time for doing it on your own is 12 to 16 months, while it’s expected to go a little faster with mentorship. While some free options only include course material, this one gives the benefits of projects, an interactive coding environment and community chat on top of the readings and lecture videos.

This course includes over 1,500 hours of mixed content. It teaches you the same curriculum as the school’s in-person course. This includes Ruby, SQL, Rails, JavaScript and more.

Full-Stack Curriculum

The Odin Project offers a free, open-source curriculum on full-stack web development. The program is made up of learning tracks that give different educational paths to fit your needs. Some shared lessons transfer to the different tracks, allowing you to keep your progress if you decide to change your track or complete more than one.

The various tracks include full-stack Ruby on Rails; a track of just front-end development with HTML, CSS and JavaScript; and full-stack JavaScript, which includes NodeJs. If you’re not sure, The Odin Project recommends full-stack Ruby on Rails to learn how to develop responsive websites.

The program includes curated tutorials, courses and blogs to learn from. You can also build projects at a range of levels, and The Odin Project has a developer community you’re able to connect with for support.

Web Design for Everybody: Basics of Web Development & Coding Specialization

This course is offered through Coursera by the University of Michigan. It’s a good beginner option that gets you started with front-end web development. It includes coding and web development knowledge, and it offers the option to audit the course materials for free. This means you would not earn the certificate that comes with paying for the course and completing the required work, but you would still gain the knowledge offered.

The setup features five courses, which would teach you front-end development skills including HTML5, CSS3 and JavaScript. To become a full-stack developer, you could add knowledge in back-end skills to what you learn in this course. This course could be perfect for someone who already has the back-end knowledge and now wants to expand to full stack.

Through the course, you’d learn important web development skills such as how to create websites that work on computers and mobile devices, and how to make interactive pages. The program takes place over three months for eight hours each week.

Building and Securing a Modern Backend API

This is a free tutorial that’s openly available on the Scotch website with no signup or free trial required. It offers knowledge in back-end skills, which makes it ideal for those who want to add to front-end knowledge or those who want to start with the back end. Combining this knowledge with front-end skills creates an understanding of full-stack development.

You simply read and follow the provided tutorial from start to finish. It lays out the steps for you just like a “how to” article, so you can learn and apply what you learn as you go. This tutorial covers how to use NodeJS to build a RESTful API. The tutorial also builds front-end clients using NodeJS and shows how that front-end side will consume the back-end API, so this does provide some full-stack knowledge of using both ends together.

Full-Stack Web Developer Courses

EDX offers a multitude of courses under the full-stack web development umbrella. You have the opportunity to pick and choose the courses you want to take through EDX. This means you can gain beginner knowledge in a few basic programming skills, fill in gaps of knowledge you already have or take as many courses as possible to gain a complete full-stack development understanding. You can access the course content for free, while a certificate would require a minimal fee.

Courses include front-end languages CSS, HTML and JavaScript; back-end languages; databases and frameworks; and other important skills. EDX even includes courses by universities and credit programs. You’re able to choose the specific skills you want to learn and study at your own pace.

Full Stack Web and Multiplatform Mobile App Development Specialization

This course is offered online by The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. You can take advantage of a free trial to gain the knowledge without the cost, and you’ll learn a combination of front-end and back-end website development and app development. However, this is not meant to be a beginner’s course, as it builds on an understanding of common front-end languages HTML, CSS and JavaScript.

Throughout the program’s five courses, you learn a variety of front-end, back-end and database skills. These include Bootstrap 4, Angular, Node.js, MongoDB, Jquery and more. Courses are intended to be taken in order. While you can gain access to content for free, if you decide to pay to enroll you can take advantage of a hands-on project and a certificate of completion.

Coding Courses

FreeCodeCamp offers more than 6,000 tutorials in a variety of coding topics, which can help you gain an education in full-stack web development. All of these tutorials are free. You even have the opportunity to earn free verified certifications in a variety of areas, which the site encourages you to complete in order if possible. Some of these contribute to a full-stack development education, such as certification in responsive web design, front-end libraries and JavaScript algorithms and data structures. Each certification includes 300 hours of training, providing you with a thorough education in each subject area.

The website guides you on how to get started as a beginner, or you can look for tutorials to fit your own knowledge gaps. FreeCodeCamp encourages you to gain knowledge toward finding a web developer job, and it shows testimonials of people who have used the site to do that.

How to Choose Online Full-Stack Developer Courses

This list of free courses offers you a range of options for learning full-stack web development online. These courses give you the benefit of open-source information designed to further the industry and help more people have the skills to be web developers. Instead of ending up in debt by going through a degree program or paying for an online course, you’re able to learn on your own from home without the price tag attached to your education.

Many of these online full-stack developer courses note that they have helped a large number of professionals learn the necessary skills to gain jobs in top tech companies. It’s not necessary to have a specific degree or education to be a full-stack web developer. Instead, you need to show a mastery of front-end and back-end web design skills. These free courses provide online help you gain these skills.

When you choose a course, think about what’s right for you. Some courses are perfect for beginners looking for a complete education in full stack, while others allow you to take different lessons to fill in the blanks of what you already know. Many programs provide a full-stack education with front- and back-end programming skills, while some offer one or the other. Some courses provide certification, whether free or for an extra fee, while others may not. These courses are ideal for people who can manage self-study.

No matter which course you choose, you can gain an understanding of full-stack development, helping you toward employment in web development positions. You can start with any course you choose now, and you always have the option to add to your knowledge gaps over time, increasing skills and specialization as you go.