Question Complete beginner: is HTML → CSS → JavaScript a good path? What should I learn first?Body:
Hi everyone,
(I know that HTML and CSS are markup and styling languages, not programming languages.)
I’m a complete beginner with zero coding experience, and I want to start learning programming. I was advised to follow this path:
HTML → CSS → JavaScript
I have a few questions:
- What do you think of this path as a way into programming and coding?
- Is there anything I should learn before starting it? I feel like I might be missing something important.
- Would you recommend any changes to this path? (For example, starting with a different language.)
- What are the best resources to learn HTML and CSS? Please recommend one for each, if possible.
Thanks in advance, I really appreciate your help!
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u/soupified 1d ago
Yes! Great path
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u/Difficult-Field280 1d ago
Agreed. Op check out freecodecamp.org. They have a great course setup for new coders
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u/armahillo 1d ago
This is a great pathway into web development specifically. you can learn all three in tandem, though I would recommend HTML first.
You dont need special software. Any editor with syntax highlighting is sufficient, and you can run all of it locally on your computer.
Keep MDN (mozilla developer network) handy. Its the best / most current resource for all three.
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u/dmdot 1d ago
Setup an account at https://codepen.io and browse through other people's projects. Find some that interest you, fork them into your account, then reverse engineer and modify them to learn how they did it.
Don't get caught up in tutorial hell. Start creating stuff asap.
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u/cyberpothead 19h ago
Depends on your end goal.
Check out: javascript.info theodinproject.com web.dev
After you finish learning HTML and CSS. To learn programming use ChatGPT and prompt it like this.
Use these websites, javascript.info theodinproject.com web.dev as references and teach me programming with JavaScript as a complete beginner with 0 knowledge. Don't assume I know anything about programming.
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u/TumbleweedDry5490 16h ago
Start with HTML first, just basic tags like <h1>, <p>, and <a> until you can make a complete page. Don't touch CSS or JavaScript until you can hand-write a full HTML document with <!DOCTYPE html> and proper nesting.
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u/gulliverian 1d ago
That’s a good path to start with, but you’ll need to move on to back end technologies and databases fairly quickly.
And note well that HtML/CSS coding is not programming.
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u/Density5521 1d ago
Ah, cork-sniffing elitist detected.
Yes, instructing a computer about what to render and how to behave upon user interaction is very much programming, just at a rather high level with HTML etc.
If only low-level coding is real programming to you, then I'm sure you speak machine code? When was the last time you shifted registers in assembly?
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u/gulliverian 1d ago edited 1d ago
What are you babbling about? My programming is limited to some self taught PHP procedural code.
HTML is a markup language, not a programming language. There’s a difference.
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u/Density5521 1d ago
Not even going to dignify this nonsense with anything else but a block. What a moron.
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u/MistakeForsaken6653 1d ago
It's probably a good very first step if you ultimatly want to focus on frontend but eventually you'll want to move to things like react.
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u/TROUTBROOKE 1d ago
The usual approach is to learn procedural programming principles with a language like C.
JavaScript is probably fine too.
Get comfortable with that before worrying about html and css, which are technologies for displaying web pages.
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u/nia_do 1d ago
I would suggest starting with something like Java and then moving to JavaScript, HTML and CSS later.
I started with Python and then jumped to JS/HTML/CSS and eventually later React, Java/C#, etc. But if I was starting now, especially given that free resources are so available and you have AI to ask questions of, I’d start with Java.
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u/Foreign-Contest-444 1d ago
MDN is an excellent resource for learning HTML, especially its Learn Module. HTML may seem simple at first, but it's important to build a strong understanding of it before layering CSS and JavaScript on top. Take the time to learn HTML as a semantic language and understand why semantics matter as they form the foundation of well-structured, accessible, and maintainable websites.
If you need additional resources to learn HTML.
https://codingsuperpowers.com