18 Free Online Sources To Learn Web Design

Have you ever wanted to go back to school, but just couldn’t afford it? Or maybe you’ve been wanting to learn how to design a website, but don’t have the time or funds for training? Unfortunately, many people deal with these dilemmas on a regular basis. Many design jobs require you to have some type of experience and most prefer a degree, but if you can’t afford to get a degree what are your other options? Well, thanks to the Internet, education doesn’t have to be expensive or time-consuming; as-a-matter-of-fact you can get it for free and in only a few hours a day.

This list of 18 free online sources will help you learn about web design and everything related to it. With all of these free online courses and tutorials, there really is no excuse for not knowing anything about web design. Unless you need an actual degree for job-related purposes, these are the best sources you’ll find and are practically just as good as college courses. Additionally, some of these sources even offer certification for low prices. So get your notebooks out and block off some time on your schedule, because these 18 resources will be taking you back to school.

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Online Web Design Course

Online Web Design Series (OWDC) offers a huge collection of lessons, articles, resources and a forum. It’s set up as a blog, so you can subscribe by RSS for new updates. There is also a huge Web Design series with topics on background alteration, text formatting, HTML, images, tables, web colors, and more. Each lesson offers step-by-step instructions and code snippets for you to use on your own site if needed.
Visit Online Web Design Course

W3Schools

W3Schools is the “world’s largest web development site” and one of the top free resources for tutorials (HTML, XML), scripting (browser, server), and web building (services, multimedia). Whether you’re just learning or are a true expert, this site has in-depth tutorials and exercises where you can try out these techniques yourself. You’ll also find links to outside resources and can even get certified in HTML, CSS, JavaScript, jQuery, XML, ASP, or PHP.
Visit W3Schools

Java Programming

If you’re looking just to learn Java, then this beginners course by Stephen Gilbert of Orange Coast College may be just up your alley. It’s an actual freshman level college course with 5 hours of lessons and 8 hours of homework. You’ll have access to the syllabus, schedule, lessons, assignments, and resources for the course. Each lesson is broken up by topic and then into sections within that topic, complete with images and examples.
Visit Java Programming

About.com Web Design Course

About.com has a free Web Design and HTML course that is sent out weekly via email (though they do also have a daily lesson option). As stated on the site, “the Web Design Class will not talk as much about how to build Web pages as the skills and techniques behind designing Web pages.” You’ll learn basic design techniques such as how to effectively use color and fonts, designing navigation, creating distraction-free graphics, and using multimedia.
Visit About.com Web Design Course

E-Learning Center

At the E-Learning Center you can learn the basics of HTML and XHTML for the purpose of web designing and publishing. While this course is free, most of the other courses they offer are not. However, you can really get a good idea of how their courses are setup and see if they’re worth paying for. The other free courses include: JavaScript, PHP and MySQL, and Visual Basic .Net. Best of all, these are full courses (not demos) with 2-6 hours of online training provided for each.
Visit E-Learning Center

Home & Learn

Home & Learn offers free programming courses and tutorials on Visual Basic .Net, C# .Net, Java, PHP, and web design, which are all geared toward beginners. You’ll learn everything you need to know about creating your first web page such as inserting images, formatting your text, adding links, and creating forms. If you create an account, you’ll also be able to take free exams on the site and earn certificates.
Visit Home & Learn

Free Video Lectures

Free Video Lectures is great for visual and auditory learners. There are 5 different web design courses and 3 of the 5 courses have a whopping 40 videos. The 5 courses are: Developing Mobile Apps with Web Technologies; Building Dynamic Websites; Internet Technology; Database Design; and Principles of Programming Languages. Most of the video lectures are an hour-long and have a rating of 3+ stars, so you can be sure that you’re getting ample amount of professional training.
Visit Free Video Lectures

Tutorial Outpost

Originally started in November 2003, Tutorial Outpost is a blog dedicated to tutorials on 3D Studio Max, flash, HTML/CSS, Illustrator, and Photoshop. Unfortunately, it hasn’t been updated since July 2010, but it’s still a great source for step-by-step tutorials on things like icon design, 3D effects, photo effects, and animation.
Visit Tutorial Outpost

Wikiversity

Just as you would expect from a title with the word “Wiki” in it, Wikiversity is a web design university built on a Wiki platform. There are quite a few topics that you can learn and even more under development. Currently you can learn how to build basic websites, small websites, client projects, and dynamic websites with PHP and JavaScript. Just like Wikipedia, Wikiversity can be edited and updated by anyone who happens to visit the site.
Visit Wikiversity

CBT Cafe

CBT (Computer Based Training) Cafe is a very organized site which offers free training videos and tutorials on Flash, Dreamweaver, Fireworks, Photoshop, Elements, Quick Time, and more. Their tutorials are very detailed and include screenshots that show you exactly how to complete the task. These tutorials can also be printed out for later referencing. Not all lessons have a video tutorial to go along with them, so you’ll have to look closely for these hidden jewels.
Visit CBT Cafe

<hyper>gURL

gURL offers free tools, generators, scripts, codes, and tutorials on numerous topics. Whether you’re in the beginning stages, an intermediate, or advanced user, this site has something for you. It has such a broad range of topics that it’s almost overwhelming. Luckily the site is very organized and the tutorials are brief, yet detailed; some even include videos to go along with them.
Visit <hyper>gURL

The HTML Writers Guild

The HTML Writers Guild provides training, Web classes, and certification in various topics like Dreamweaver, Flash, Fireworks, Photoshop, Illustrator, HTML, CSS, XHTML, XML, and much more. There are many topics to choose from and you can see future web classes up to 2 months in advance. Each class is taught by an expert or working professional in that field. While this site is not free, they do offer a free trial. The annual memberships is pretty affordable at $49, so if you enjoy the trial you may just consider purchasing a membership.
Visit The HTML Writers Guild

Webmonkey

Webmonkey is another blog with web development and design tutorials on various topics like Ajax, CSS, HTML, JavaScript, web standards, and more. This blog is updated 1-2 times a week, so be sure to subscribe for updates. Webmonkey also gives you access to cheat sheets, color charts, templates, and code snippets for use on your own websites.
Visit Webmonkey

How-To-Build-Websites.com

This website calls itself, “the easiest web design tutorial on the web” and has 8 free, simple lessons that will help you learn everything you need to know to start designing. From there you can go on to the Complete Web Designer series with over 29 hours of training and close to 200 videos. Unfortunately the full series is not free, but is still quite a steal at $99.99.
Visit How-To-Build-Websites.com/

Graphic Design Theory

Psdtuts+ is a great source for tutorials, articles, tips, sessions, and videos on Photoshop. With all of this available information, you’re bound to find something useful. With that being said, I want to point out their “50 Totally Free Lessons in Graphic Design Theory,” which links to 50 free and extremely useful lessons. Design Theory is an important concept for beginners and experts. The resources on this list focus on typography, grid based design, color theory, design theory, UI, and usability.
Check Out Graphic Design Theory

monsterTUT.com

monsterTUT.com offers a creative, fun way to learn about web and graphic design using Photoshop and Dreamweaver. You can also learn about jQuery, PHP, and WordPress. Each lesson is very detailed and offers step-by-step instructions with plenty of images and screenshots. Lessons are added regularly so be sure to subscribe for updates.
Visit Monster TUT

Learnthat.com

Learnthat.com offers free online tutorials in web development and CGI programming. You can learn about XHTML, HTML, Microsoft FrontPage, Dreamweaver, Flash, CSS, and more. The tutorials are setup on a blog so that you can leave comments and ask questions if needed. Learnthat.com also lets you submit tutorials via email in MS Word or Rich Text Format.
Visit Learnthat.com

Emagister – The Smart Course Guide

Finally we have Emagister, a “smart course guide” that’s based in the UK. You can use the search bar and filters to find exactly what you’re looking for. Here you’ll find hundreds of courses on Flash, FrontPage, Dreamweaver, HTML, XHTML, CSS, web forms, and much more. Emagister is actually one of the largest education directories in the world and gives you access to thousands of online communities, in order to connect with others.
Visit Emagister – The Smart Course Guide

Wow, that’s a lot of free education! Now it’s your turn to share. Do you use resources like this for your own personal use? If so, what is your favorite source for free tutorials, courses, lessons, and/or videos on web design? Do you prefer learning online or in a classroom setting?

Feel free to share your thoughts and opinions in the comments below.

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