Top 12 resources for back end developers
With the ongoing enhancements of back end development, keeping up with the latest and greatest information can get exhausting. Rather than immersing yourself into everything back end, take the time to find resources that best fit your needs. Just like your work, you’ll always need to follow courses, classes, and other types of education that builds up your skill set, expand your developer portfolio and increase your earning potential.
To stay up-to-date on all the information for back end developers, here are the best resources, ranging from YouTube channels to books and podcasts.
Back end development channels on YouTube
Whether you’re looking to get into back end development or level-up your existing skills, these channels are some of the best ones for back end development.
FreeCodeCamp
FreeCodeCamp.org is a nonprofit dedicated to helping other nonprofits through code. The FreeCodeCamp channel focuses on everything from basics in Python and Java to in-depth tutorials in app development, C#, machine learning, and so much more. The channel has more than 3 million subscribers, so you’re in good company.
Codecourse
With more than 340,000 subscribers, Codecourse is one of the best places to learn and improve PHP. Sometimes more general channels that focus on many different subjects have a hard time getting into specific details when it comes to one language or project. This is a great resource if you’re trying to hone your skills in one particular language.
Google Developers
The Google Developers channel focuses on best practices, how-to’s, and industry news from the Google team. The channel gives you dedicated playlists for things like Machine Learning and conference session replays. This is great if you can’t get to a Google Developer conference but still want to learn what’s new and upcoming. The channel has more than 2 million followers.
The Net Ninja
Shaun Pelling from The Net Ninja has more than 1,000 videos on modern JavaScript, Vue.js, HTML, CSS, React and React Native, plus so much more. This is a great channel for beginners but seasoned web developers will enjoy the content as well. There are crash courses on JavaScript and Flutter but you’ll also learn how to build animations, scroll text, and more.
Kevin Powell
Kevin Powell posts videos a couple times a week on everything from beginner’s courses to tips and tricks for established web developers. This channel is great for learning and conquering CSS as well as understanding major fundamentals of web development.
Inspiring back-end devs to follow
Some developers have a cult-like YouTube following while others are loved for their course material. Here are some great ones to listen to and draw inspiration from.
Mosh Hamedani
Mosh Hamedani says he’s taught more than 10 million people how to code. His YouTube channel has more than 1.5 million subscribers with basic introductions to Python, JavaScript, MySQL, and React JS, among others. He also offers courses and a blog to keep up on the latest web development news with a personal take from Mosh.
Traversy Media
Brad Traversy has a long list of courses if you’re looking to continue expanding your knowledge. He also runs Traversy Media on YouTube, focusing on web development and programming tutorials for beginners and seasoned web developers alike.
You’ll find playlists on programming crash courses to get right into back end web development. The channel also features career advice and industry news. If you’re hunting for a web development job but you’re coming up short, you can find a few ways to put yourself out there. There’s also a video on specific jobs you can get as a web developer, so don’t put yourself into a tiny box.
Clever Programmer
Rafeh Qazi runs Clever Programmer. There’s free training, free video tutorials and lessons on YouTube, and classes on how to boost your income as a web developer. There are also answers to major questions you might have as a newbie web developer, like what programming language to learn first or how to manage your time as a web developer. If you’re looking to follow someone beyond course instruction, you’ll want to subscribe to Clever Programmer.
Back-end development podcasts to listen to
If you’re into podcasts, you might enjoy these great web development shows.
Building the Backend
Building the Backend focuses on highlighting developers and programmers from successful companies. Hear what professionals in leading industries have to say about web development, including what they love, what they don’t really like, and what works for them. You’ll hear insights on how to make your skills and team the best in your business.
Host Travis Lawrence is a data and analytics consultant and is certified as an AWS Developer.
DonTheDeveloper
Don wants to help aspiring and junior web developers grow to become more in-demand on his DonTheDeveloper podcast. You can listen to episodes featuring reviews on programming languages and updates as well as interviews with other web developers. You’ll even find reviews on web development products, like courses and classes.
The Backend Engineering Show with Hussein Nasser
Hussein Nasser uploads new episodes of The Backend Engineering Show every few days. You can find it wherever you listen to your podcasts. It focuses on how to become a good back end engineer, as well as crash courses and how-tos for specific back end development knowledge. This isn’t just for beginners. Nasser has advanced episodes as well that are great for more seasoned web developers who are further along in their careers.
You can find audio versions in videos through the YouTube channel.
JS Party: JavaScript & Web Dev
Episodes for JS Party: JavaScript & Web Dev are recorded live every week. You’ll hear a lot about JavaScript but there are other topics covered as well, like Chrome and Safari web platforms, among others.
The “party” is no joke. There are nine different panelists. That’s quite a bit more than many podcasts, which typically feature a few people or as little as one. You can subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts or sign up to receive alerts of when new episodes are published. If you’re new to the podcast, you can cherry-pick previous episodes to listen to the ones you’re most interested in. Or you can start from the beginning and join hundreds of other subscribers.
