A lot of people want to learn to code, but they don’t know where to start, especially the beginners who want to drive into programming, or they think it will be too hard or too time-consuming.
Well, as it turns out, you can learn basic coding pretty quickly, and once you’ve got the basics down, you can start making things like your own website or an application on your own.
Here are 4 tips for beginners on how to improve programming skills, they will help you start coding today!
Tips on How to Improve Programming Skills for Beginners
Learn the Basics
To become good at coding, you need to know how it works.
There are tons of resources on how programming works online, but there’s no substitute for having an experienced programmer walk you through what it all means.
For starters, your first step should be joining a local meetup or conference. If that’s not possible, check out CodeAcademy or CodeSchool for free introductory lessons.
These will give you basic programming knowledge—enough to start talking tech with other developers and advance your skills as you go along. Some other places to turn for beginner tips include TutsPlus tutorials and Thinkful courses.
The best way to learn any programming language, which I also preferred for learning a new language. When you watch tutorials on YouTube or any other video tutorial site, try to write the code along with the instructor in the video.
Believe me! by following this method you’ll learn any language very quickly and easily.
Be Willing to Failing
The second step to being willing to fail is getting your hands dirty with code.
Codeacademy, W3schools, and tutorials point are great places for learning to code for free.
Once you have learned the basics of any programming language (C/C++, Java, etc) or Web Development (HTML, CSS) that is all it takes to put your portfolio together.
You can use these sites as launchpads for building your first website or application from scratch, but it’s easier said than done.
Learning how to code requires patience along with commitment. So if you want to build amazing websites/applications then be prepared because it will be a long journey toward greatness.
Remember even Google was not born overnight so do not expect any shortcuts or miracle pills out there that will give you overnight success! If there were any shortcuts then everyone would have found it by now!
Work on Side Projects
It’s important that you begin building your portfolio of work.
For example, you can work on projects with local startups or organizations, help friends or family launch an app, build something fun for yourself, or design your own website.
Get creative! The more time you put into working on side projects, the faster you will progress as a developer. If possible, I recommend dedicating at least 1 hour each day to building your skillset.
Stole Others Code
Stole the code of others — source code of any website or application. But remember it should be for your learning purpose only.
After you have got the code, run it and look at how it works. Again look at the code and try making some changes to the code. Now again look at the output of the code.
You should notice the change in the output from the code you have retyped. This will give you a better understanding of the language and you’ll get to know how these applications or websites might actually work.
Create Something New Each Day
Programming is Fun!
Absolutely no one can be the guru of programming overnight. All it needs is hard work, practice, determination, and most importantly consistency. The more you are consistent with coding the more quickly you’ll learn.
However, if you want to add jet fuel to your learning progress you should take some time each day and challenge yourself of creating something new.
Of course, it might be to implement some new features in the language to do more creativity in your projects/programs. These challenges will add significant improvements in the overall learning of the language.
Don’t Give Up!
It’s normal for you to feel like you’re stuck. Don’t lose hope.
It happens to everyone, even experienced coders at some point in their careers. If you do get stuck, ask for help online or from someone near you that has experience with coding.
No one is ever too young or too old to learn how to code!