Professional programmers have to balance a lot on their plate. The job normally requires mastery of multiple coding languages on top of working with frameworks, developing websites, answering to multiple stakeholders and more. Fortunately, some programmers have managed to carve time out of their days to create blogs and personal websites where they share their knowledge and report on trends within their industry. Industry groups and businesses have also curated content feeds that cover a wide range of topics from project to beginners, managing workplace responsibilities, advancements in the space and much more.
We’ve done the work of seeking out the most high-quality, relevant and useful of the thousands of programming-focused publications you can find online. Keep reading for our top 10 picks and what makes each one an excellent resource!
Why Programming and Coding Blogs?
There are a multitude of ways blogs can provide benefits to your life. Your time is valuable, so you should only seek out publications that provide for the specific purpose you require. That might just mean learning a little bit more about the industry you love, or it could be tips and tricks for performing your job more efficiently and effectively. Blogs are a great way to expand your knowledge base on the technical and professional aspects of your career, and demonstrate value to your employer by going above and beyond the job description. In the tech world especially, knowing which way the industry winds are blowing can help ensure you’re upgrading your skillset in the right areas and put you at an advantage for landing your next gig.
Top 10 Programming and Coding Blogs
Better Programming
This medium.com based blog recently crossed the mark of 200,000 subscribers and has served as a valuable resource for programmers looking to fix bugs in their code and accelerate their career opportunities. Eight years of archives cover topics like Java, mobile app development, and Javascript as well as actionable non-code related aspects of the job like how to be a good manager and excelling at remote work. Articles are crowd-sourced to provide varying viewpoints and so readers can hear from subject matter experts, but a team of editors ensure quality and consistency across all content.
CSS-Tricks
Despite this name, this blog/website doesn’t only cover CSS, but is actually more of an all-encompassing look at building websites and what that entails from a front-end perspective. For more than a decade, the site has been publishing near-daily on HTML, Javascript, WordPress, and of course, CSS. They also offer an accompanying book of compiled tips, newsletter, coding almanac and complete guides.
A List Apart
With its roots as a mailing list and magazine publication all the way back in 1997, A List Apart, sets itself, well, apart by offering high-quality and in-depth posts. A full masthead of editors covers all topics relevant “for people who make websites,” with an eye towards what’s next in user experience and design. They also place emphasis on web standards and best practices, often calling on the knowledge of industry experts in their well-sourced pieces.
Coding Horror
If you like your updates with a bit of humor and personality, this is the blog for you. Jeff Atwood has been publishing Coding Horror since 2004, exploring his interest in not only what he calls the art of software development, but also the people behind the software. Scrolling through the archive is like taking a curated and guided tour through the history of web development. His recommended developer reading list is an invaluable resource for web historians and current-day programmers alike.
David Walsh Blog
This well-known programmer in the developer community has previously worked for Mozilla and is currently a Senior Software Engineer at MetaMask. He is the Core Developer for MooTools JavaScript Framework and an all-around expert when it comes to front-end technologies and frameworks like HTML/CSS and jQuery. David’s blog covers these topics, in addition to server-side skills, such as PHP and Python. Look to this site for technical tutorials, coding demos and features on the insider perspective of what it’s like to work in the industry.
Dev
This site also made our list of top online communities for coders, and for a good reason: it’s one of the most popular and high-quality ones around. The open-source format has drawn contributions from more than 700,000 developers, but don’t worry about sifting through posts to find the good stuff. The best and most well-researched content rises to the top by garnering positive engagement and reactions. You can also sort the posts by Listings (“Seeking a Mentor,” “Job Listings,” “Upcoming Events”), Tags (#devops, #css, #programming), or Medium (podcasts, posts, videos).
Real Python
Some topics require a deep dive to fully understand them, programming languages being one of them. Real Python’s sole focus is on the programming language at hand, and they’ve developed a comprehensive home for everyone from total beginners to absolute experts, looking to brush up on complex topics like data visualization and web scraping. Search through their blog posts for easy-to-understand answers to specific questions, or choose a learning path, to be guided through an accelerated study plan with in-depth tutorials and quizzes. Real Python also offers a membership tier for unlimited access to all their materials, as well as books and a private Slack community for fellow Pythonistas.
Elided Branches
While you can’t underestimate the technical expertise needed in coding roles, this often means that career growth aspects of the job can fall to the wayside. Camille Forunier, an engineer and the author of the book “The Manager’s Path,” runs this blog, perfect for any tech professional looking to tackle the challenges of managing others and climbing the corporate ladder. Some of her most popular posts include “How do Managers Get Stuck” and “An Incomplete List of Skills Senior Engineers Need Beyond Coding”.
ReactGo
Breaking down difficult concepts in JavaScript is the mission of the blog run by programmer Sai Gowtham. Got a specific issue with Angular, React or Vue.js? It’s probably been answered here within Sai’s more than 900 posts and tutorials. The blog also covers even more advanced topics in Reactrouter, algorithms and GraphQL.
The Daily WTF
Sometimes after a long day on the job, you just need a laugh. Unlike the other entries on this list, this blog will tell you exactly what NOT to do, with daily user-submitted tales of disastrous development. Take a scroll through their archives, as they recount all kinds of hilarious and cringe-worthy office horror stories, “project management gone spectacularly bad to inexplicable coding choices”. Hopefully, none of them sound too familiar to your experiences!
Embarking on a Coding Career
No matter where you fall on the spectrum of coding ability, from total amateur to already in a professional programming position, you can find something to learn on any of the blogs we’ve highlighted here. Of course, another excellent resource for budding coders is this very site, codingbootcamps.io! If you haven’t already, be sure to take a moment to browse our resources, including guides to the best tech careers, the subjects and languages you need to know, and the best cities to work in. Our resources section is full of deep-dives into specific career paths, coding languages, skills, programs and more.
If you’re looking for a place to start, check out the related articles linked below!
