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The Best Online Courses for Learning Python Web Development in 2023

We spent several hundred hours meticulously testing and reviewing several dozen Python courses from various vendors around the web. Here are the absolute best online Python courses available right now.

Updated: August 25, 2023


Our Top Pick

CS50 Web Development with Python and JavaScript

CS50 Web Development with Python and JavaScript

edX

By Brian Yu

free (certificate for $199)
VIDEOS | PROJECTS

Bottom Line

The gold standard for online courses provides the best way for programmers to learn basic Python and how to build web apps with Django and PostgreSQL.

This Course Is Great For

  • Novice Programmers
  • Lectures & Homework

This course is quite rigorous, just what you'd expect from Harvard. Each module of the course contains one video lecture supplemented by detailed lecture notes and a project. You'll need the lecture notes as reference when completing the projects. But you’ll have to use supplemental resources from around the web as well, particularly the Python and Django documentation. The course is largely about teaching you how to learn to code with Python, and a major component of that is hunting for information around the web.

We absolutely love the rigor of the projects. The projects are mostly building full-featured clones of well-known websites.

The Python project is Design a front-end for Google Search, Google Image Search, and Google Advanced Search. The Django project is to Design a Wikipedia-like online encyclopedia, containing an entry page, index, search functionality, CRUD authoring, a random page, and a markdown converter. The SQL, Models, and Migrations project is Design an eBay-like e-commerce auction site that will allow users to post auction listings, place bids on listings, comment on those listings, and add listings to a “watchlist.”

Each project assignment includes specs that your deliverable needs to meet in order to receive credit. If submitting your project for credit, you’ll also need to record a 5-minute screencast demonstrating the functionality of your project.

CS50 also includes one of the most robust and active communities around an online course. There are tens of thousands of active members on the Discord, and if you have a question, you typically don't have to wait long to get a solid answer.

Before You Buy

You won’t be eligible for a certificate until you complete the entire path, and you must receive 70% on all projects.

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Runner Up

Python, Flask, and SQLAlchemy

Python, Flask, and SQLAlchemy

App Academy Open

By Various Authors

Free
READINGS | QUIZZES | EXERCISES | SOLO PROJECTS

Bottom Line

Solid free option for learning professional-grade Python web development.

This Course Is Great For

  • Novice Programmers
  • Learning Without Videos
  • Frequent Practice

With App Academy Open, you have free access to the curriculum used in App Academy’s Full Stack Software Engineering program. In the program, the curriculum is supplemented by live instruction, with practice projects designed for pair programming. Here, you’re on your own to work through the material, but the organization of material and the frequent practice are similar.

The material is a collection of text-based explanations of core concepts, with frequent quizzes to check for understanding. Each section is supplemented by short projects where you apply your knowledge in a real world setting. And ultimately, the material culminates in a robust capstone project.

Unfortunately, with this free curriculum, you don’t get feedback on your capstone project, and if you get stuck at any point, you’ll need to go hunting for help. App Academy Open does have a Discord community, but your mileage may vary, especially since the Python curriculum comes late in the program, as one of the more advanced sections.

Before You Buy

App Academy recommends moving through all the material sequentially, and the Python and Flask material comes near the end of the curriculum. It was created for a target audience that has already learned foundational and intermediate JavaScript, foundational and intermediate HTML, Node and Express, Data Structures and Algorithms in JavaScript, React, and Web Security concepts. While the Python and Flask curriculum doesn’t really overlap with those topics, it assumes this prerequisite knowledge and a fairly well-rounded programming baseline, so if you aren’t already solid on those topics, you may want to consider a different resource that starts with more programming foundations.

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Also Great

Build Python Web Apps with Flask Skill Path

Build Python Web Apps with Flask Skill Path

Codecademy

By Various Authors

$$$$$
READINGS | CODING CHALLENGES | QUIZZES | GUIDED PROJECTS | SOLO PROJECTS

Bottom Line

A solid option for learning to build web applications with Python and Flask, with engaging hands-on practice and a few challenging projects.

This Course Is Great For

  • Hands-on learning
  • Getting Started Quickly
  • Projects

In this path, you will learn how to code in Python, design and access databases, create interactive web applications with Flask, and deploy your apps to the cloud.

The course begins by covering some Python essentials before spending the majority of the time covering particular features of working with Flask.

Much of what’s covered in the Learn Python 3 course is included in the Introduction to Python and Introduction to Python Data Structures and Loops courses.

The path also includes a capstone project where you build a fully-featured Flask app. This is a completely open-ended project, where you get to decide the scenario and topic of the site. The instructor merely provides some basic requirements, like collecting user data with forms, storing data in a database, authenticating users, and deploying the app to the web.

Before You Buy

The community on Codecademy is fairly frustrating. Posts seem to go largely ignored. So if you proceed with this course and build a project, we recommend posting to Reddit to get feedback rather than the Codecademy community.

The course teaches app deployment with Heroku, and was built when Heroku offered a free tier. Heroku is no longer offered as a free resource.

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Also Great

Become a Flask Developer

Become a Flask Developer

Educative

By Harsh Jain

$$$ (subscription required)
READINGS | CODING CHALLENGES | QUIZZES | ASSESSMENTS

Bottom Line

Great option if you want to learn without videos, and curate your own Python and Flask learning path from a disparate set of materials.

This Course Is Great For

  • Getting Up to Speed Quickly
  • Ongoing Reference
  • Learning by Doing

Educative's courses combine a variety of learning formats, including readings, quizzes, in-browser coding challenges, and in-browser playgrounds where you can run and test code.

We found the challenges to be decent practice, though limited in scope. They're typically enough to check for understanding of a concept, and tend to increase in difficulty as you get further in the course.

We also like that unlike Codecademy, you're in charge of navigating the course and marking sections complete. You can skip around, preview sections, and if you feel confident you already know the material, you can mark lessons or even entire modules complete.

Before You Buy

Educative has tons of Python courses and paths, and a fair amount of Flask material. We don't think there's a single path solution that will teach everything you need, so we recommend combining the Python for Programmers path with the Become a Flask Developer path to get more web focused experience with Python.

Off-platform projects are crucial to becoming proficient enough to work with Python professionally. Educative's focus is on-platform coding challenges, so be sure to supplement your on-platform learning with a project built end to end on your local system and deployed to the web.

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Also Great

Scientific Computing with Python Certification

Scientific Computing with Python Certification

FreeCodeCamp

By Dr. Charles Severance & Others

Free
VIDEOS | EXERCISES | QUIZZES

Bottom Line

Dr. Chuck's excellent "Python for Everybody" course with autograded coding problems.

This Course Is Great For

  • Beginners
  • Expert-led Learning
  • Frequent Practice

This course takes the core materials from Dr. Chuck's Python for Everybody course and adds some solo coding projects to the end.

Dr. Chuck is a fantastic teacher. You can find his materials on a variety of platforms, but Python for Everybody is perhaps his greatest work: a free curriculum to learn Python from foundations to advanced topics. Here, FreeCodeCamp supplements the videos and quizzes with some robust coding challenges. While not necessarily real-world, the coding challenges will test the depth of your Python knowledge.

The course covers the essentials of working with Python, including some advanced topics like OOP, working with data from external APIs, and data visualization.

After taking this course, you’ll have a solid foundation of working with Python, and be ready to continue learning advanced web development topics in Python, including working with Flask, Django, and SQLAlchemy.

Before You Buy

The examples are less real-world than you'll find in some of our other recommendations.

This version of the Python for Everybody materials doesn't include the textbook. You can find that online at py4e.com.

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Why Learn Python

Python is a versatile, high-level programming language known for its simplicity and readability. It's widely used in web development for building backend systems, thanks to its extensive libraries and frameworks. Python's clean syntax and diverse ecosystem make it a powerful choice for fullstack developers to create efficient and scalable web applications.

Key Topics to Learn

To prepare for using Python professionally as a fullstack developer, focus on mastering these key topics:

  1. Python Fundamentals: Develop a strong understanding of Python syntax, data types, variables, functions, loops, and control flow.
  2. Object-Oriented Programming (OOP): Learn OOP concepts like classes, objects, inheritance, and polymorphism to create well-structured and reusable code.
  3. Web Frameworks: Explore web frameworks like Django and Flask. Django is a full-featured framework with built-in components for rapid development, while Flask is lightweight and flexible, allowing you to choose components as needed.
  4. Database Interaction: Learn how to work with databases using libraries like SQLAlchemy or Django's built-in ORM. Understand CRUD operations, database migrations, and data modeling.
  5. API Development: Gain proficiency in building RESTful APIs using frameworks like Flask-RESTful or Django Rest Framework to create backend services for your applications.
  6. Authentication and Authorization: Understand how to implement user authentication and authorization using libraries like Flask-Login or Django's authentication system.
  7. Testing and Debugging: Learn testing frameworks like unittest or pytest to ensure code quality. Develop debugging skills to identify and fix issues in your code.
  8. Version Control: Get comfortable with version control using Git. Understand how to manage code repositories, create branches, and collaborate effectively.
  9. Deployment and Hosting: Learn how to deploy Python applications using platforms like Heroku or AWS. Understand server configuration, deployment pipelines, and continuous integration.
  10. API Integration: Explore how to integrate external APIs into your Python applications for features like payment processing, mapping, social media sharing, etc.
  11. RESTful Architecture: Understand the principles of RESTful architecture, including designing resource endpoints, status codes, and handling different HTTP methods.

By mastering these topics, you'll be well-prepared to use Python professionally for backend web development. Practical application of these skills through projects and hands-on exercises will help solidify your knowledge and proficiency in Python.

Prerequisites for Learning Python

Python is generally regarded as an entry-level programming language. However, there are a few prerequisites that can greatly enhance your learning experience when starting to learn Python for web development:

  1. Basic Programming Knowledge: It's beneficial to have a fundamental understanding of programming concepts like variables, data types, loops, and conditional statements. Most of the courses listed above will assume some level of programming knowledge. If you're entirely new to programming, consider starting with a beginner's Python course to grasp these fundamentals.
  2. Basic Command Line Usage: Familiarity with using the command line or terminal is useful for running Python scripts, managing your development environment, and interacting with web development tools.

While not all of these prerequisites are strictly required, and can be learned alongside Python, having a foundational understanding of these concepts will significantly accelerate your learning process and enable you to grasp Python concepts more effectively.

After You Learn Python Fundamentals

Continue with more advanced topics with Python and Fullstack Development:

  1. Security: Learn best practices for securing your Python applications, including data validation, preventing common attacks (e.g., SQL injection), and using HTTPS.
  2. Performance Optimization: Learn strategies to optimize Python code for speed and efficiency, such as using caching, minimizing database queries, and optimizing algorithms.
  3. Concurrency and Asynchronous Programming: Familiarize yourself with asynchronous programming concepts and libraries like asyncio for handling I/O-bound tasks efficiently.
  4. Logging and Monitoring: Learn how to implement logging in your applications and monitor their performance using tools like logging libraries and application monitoring services.
  5. Deployment with AWS or Azure: Learn best practices for deploying Python web applications to the cloud.

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