The Best Programming Blogs You Should Read Daily | Self-Taught
The Best Programming Blogs You Should Read Daily
Programming blogs offer expert advice from skilled coders, tutorials for beginners, and career advice for programs at every level. By reading programming blogs daily, you can stay ahead of the curve and learn more about the profession. You’ll read about the latest trends, learn tricks of the trade, and master different coding languages by choosing the right programming blogs.
But what programming blogs should you add to your reading list?
Here’s the good news: you can find hundreds, if not thousands, of programming blogs online. You can even start your own! But how can you find the best programming blogs?
Programming blogs fall into several categories. Some cover every aspect of programming, including career advancement. Others specialize in answering questions, offering expert advice on programming problems. Blogs also focus on areas within programming, like web development or software development.
To create our list of the best programming blogs, we’ve sorted the blogs into categories: the best programming blogs for new programmers, the top official programming blogs, and the funniest blogs when you’re looking for a lighter approach to coding.
Best Programming Blogs for New Programmers
If you’re a beginner in the programming world, especially if you’re a self-taught programmer, blogs can help strengthen your skills, learn more about the profession, and connect with experienced programmers. These blogs aren’t just for new programmers—but they offer a wealth of resources to people beginning their programming journey.
Learn to Code With Me is a great starting place for new programmers. It belongs to Laurence Bradford, a self-taught programmer, and talented writer. She is also a Forbes contributor and was nice enough to include me in one of her articles. Laurence covers everything from programming to product to design, to starting your own business.
Simple Programmer is the blog of John Somnez, author of “The Complete Software Developer’s Career Guide” and the “Software Developer’s Life Manual.” The great thing about the Simple Programmer blog is its focus on soft skills. It covers a lot of the skills programmers need to succeed but often neglect. Like how to define your career goals or how to stand out in a sea of engineers.
Geeks for Geeks offers educational tools on programming, algorithms, and data structures. Self-taught programmers benefit from the blog’s emphasis on interview questions. The blog helps programmers master the skills required for a technical interview. It also includes guest posts with career advice, especially for people who want to work at big tech companies. Thinking about a job at Amazon? Check out the blog post on How to Prepare for Amazon Software Development Engineering Interview. Geeks for Geeks also features information on recent interviews from readers.
Best Programming Blogs for Advanced Programmers
CodePen acts as an online code editor, letting users write code in their browser. In addition to offering an online community with an emphasis on front-end languages like JavaScript, HTML, and CSS, CodePen hosts a regularly updated blog. The blog includes tips and tricks for coders, information about CodePen features, and links to podcast episodes.
Interested in web design or web development? If you’re curious about trends in design or you’re looking for information on the market for web developers, check out the Six Revisions blog. The blog explains concepts like responsive web design and website optimization for non-specialists, while also offering information on coding tools. Founded by Jacob Gube, a web developer and web designer, the blog offers specialized resources for beginning web designers and developers.
The Best Official Programming Blogs
Blogs aren’t just for programmers—they also offer major tech players an opportunity to share information about their products and services. Much like the GitHub blog provides insight into the features and tools offered by GitHub, these official programming blogs help coders working with Google, Microsoft, and Linux products.
The Google Developer blog helps programmers who use any Google Developer tools, including Chrome DevTools, Lighthouse, and Puppeteer. The official resource for Google Developer, the blog includes resources for programmers, news on Google platforms, and articles from experts. The Google Developer blog also updates readers on events and offers insights into Google platforms.
The official Microsoft Developer blog provides information on software, tech news, and coding advice from experts. Run by Microsoft’s software engineers, the blog features informative stories about developer projects around the world. Microsoft also offers specialized blogs dedicated to different products, including the Windows blog, the Visual Studio blog, and the Office 365 Developer blog.
The Linux Foundation offers its own community blog, backed by programming and software engineering experts. The blog features information for open source developers, software engineers, and coders who use Linux. The foundation also offers news and updates, tech articles, and project announcements to keep coders up-to-date in the field.
PyCharm is my favorite IDE. Their blog keeps you up to date with everything PyCharm related. They have a few blog posts that include links to different programming webinars they host. They also interview different Python evangelists. Check out the interview they did with yours truly!
A development platform used by millions of developers, GitHub also offers a blog that includes expert articles, updates to editor tools, and information about GitHub products. Beginners will appreciate the community feature on the blog, which offers educational information, coding assignments, and invitations to GitHub events. A resource for programmers at any skill level, the GitHub blog is a must-read.
The Best Blogs About Programming Languages
It is always a good idea to keep on top of the latest developments of the programming tools you use. Here are some blogs that will help you stay up to date with different popular programming languages.
I’ve always admired Al Sweigart. He’s written a bunch of fantastic books on Python like Automate the Boring Stuff. His blog, The Invent with Python Blog is all about Python as well. He has a bunch of awesome tutorials. In one tutorial, he shows you how to write a bot to play zombie dice. It is also one of only two blogs on here that has the word blog in its name.
David Walsh is a well-known figure in the JavaScript world. He is also a software engineer and evangelist for Mozilla. His blog focuses on JavaScript. I like that he explores other topics aside from just programming on his blog as well though. He talks about his life, like in this article, Confessions of a Web Developer.
The Funniest Programming Blogs
Sometimes programmers need a break. After all, coding isn’t all business—it’s also important to appreciate the lighter side of the profession. These blogs will put a smile on your face while teaching you a few new tricks.
Created by software developer Jeff Atwood, Coding Horror offers an honest look at the people behind the software. Combining helpful programming tips with charts, graphs, and visual aids, Coding Horror blends information and humor. And since the site dates back to 2004, it includes hundreds of posts on coding. After founding the blog, Atwood created Stack Overflow, an online community for developers.
Another lighthearted site that dates back to 2004, The Daily WTF offers a how-not-to guide for software development. By chronicling disastrous moments in development, the site reveals the hidden world of bad coders. Beginners can see what really happens behind the scenes, while also picking up valuable tips on what to avoid.
Programming blogs give beginners a new perspective on the profession, including the good, the bad, and the ugly. They help programmers stay current in the field, learn from experts, and add new tips and tricks to their resume.
In addition to these programming blogs, you can find hundreds more online—including Planet Python, the official blog for the Python programming language, and Gamasutra, which offers expert and member blogs for game developers.
And of course, keep reading Self-Taught, our blog that covers everything you need to know to succeed as a self-taught programmer.
If you are looking for even more ways to stay on top of the latest programming trends, take a look at our list of the best coding podcasts as well as our list of the best programming books.