10 web developer certifications to improve your skills and career in 2024

Whether you’re an aspiring web developer or someone with years of experience in the field, getting a web developer certification can be very beneficial for your personal development and future career.

A professional certificate in web development can expand your knowledge and bring you up-to-date with the latest practices. Furthermore, having a certificate will give you more credibility when applying to become a web developer.

When choosing a web development certification program to pursue, consider your budget, skill level, and the areas you want to improve in. Make sure to select a credible certification provider and check whether the course fits with your schedule.

In this article, we will discuss ten of the best web developer certifications. We’ll explain what to expect from each program to help you find the best one for your needs.

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1. University of Michigan Web Design for Everybody

• Best for: beginners
• Learning duration: 6 months
• Cost: $49/month

This web design certification and development specialization program by the University of Michigan is designed for complete beginners without any coding experience.

You will learn the basics of how to make a website using HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript through this web development course. The program also emphasizes the importance of building websites responsive to any screen size.

The capstone of the certification program is developing a high-quality web portfolio. Therefore, upon completing the program, you won’t only walk away with new knowledge, coding skills, and a professional certificate – you will also have a portfolio that you can showcase to potential employers.

New Coursera users can get a free trial of this program for seven days. To keep access to the lessons, you will have to pay $49/month. There’s also a flexible learning schedule, enabling students to learn part-time.

Suggested Certificate Courses

• Introduction to HTML5 – one of the most popular courses on HTML in Coursera, this training course teaches the basics of web technology, what HTML5 is, how to use its tags and attributes, and how to conduct web validation and accessibility.
• Introduction to CSS3 – teaches you how to style pages using CSS3 with a focus on proper syntax and accessibility design.
• Interactivity with JavaScript – introduces JavaScript for web interactivity and various programming language concepts like variables, operators, and arrays.
• Advanced Styling with Responsive Design – teaches the fundamentals of the mobile-first paradigm of web design and how to practice them using Bootstrap.

2. freeCodeCamp

• Best for: beginners
• Learning duration: 300 hours/certification course
• Cost: free

freeCodeCamp is one of the most popular resources to learn to code for free.

The nonprofit organization has helped thousands of people learn software and web development independently. Many web developers who got started on the platform have gotten jobs at prestigious tech companies like Apple, Google, and Microsoft.

At freeCodeCamp, you can complete and gain certifications for ten areas, including Responsive Web Design, Front-End Development Libraries, and Back-End Development and APIs. All lessons are accessible at any time.

Nearly every new lesson encourages students to practice what they learn. This makes freeCodeCamp an excellent resource to learn web development on your own.

Suggested Certificate Courses

• Responsive Web Design Certification – teaches HTML and CSS by guiding students in building simple to complex responsive web apps.
• Front-End Development Libraries – introduces some of the most popular front-end libraries in the industry, such as Bootstrap and Sass.
• JavaScript Algorithms and Data Structures – explains the basics of JavaScript and shows how to create algorithms to manipulate strings and factorize numbers.
• Back-End Development and APIs – teaches how to write a back-end website or an app using Node.js, npm (Node Package Manager), the Express framework, and MongoDB.

3. IBM Full Stack Cloud Developer Professional Certificate

• Best for: beginners, intermediate
• Learning duration: 13 months
• Cost: $39/month

IBM’s Full-Stack Cloud Developer course is an in-depth, beginner-friendly professional certification program that covers front-end and back-end web development and various Cloud-Native methodologies.

Throughout the course, you will be able to build your web developer portfolio on GitHub by applying the knowledge and skills you’ve gained working on multiple hands-on projects and a capstone.

The projects you will be working on in this web development course include creating an interest rate calculator using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, building a Node.js and React application, and creating a Python app.

This full-stack web development program takes approximately 13 months to complete. However, you’re free to work at your own pace.

Like other certifications on Coursera, you’ll be able to get a free seven-day trial for the course and pay $39/month to continue learning until completion.

Suggested Certificate Courses

• Introduction to Cloud Computing – introduces the basics of cloud computing as well as its service and deployment models, together with the critical infrastructure components.
• Introduction to Web Development with HTML, CSS, JavaScript – explains how site and application development in the cloud works and the languages used for front-end development.
• Developing Cloud-Native Applications – teaches essential cloud concepts and the tools and techniques for building cloud-native apps.
• Python for Data Science, AI & Development – introduces one of the most popular computer programming languages for data science and web development, Python. You will learn Python fundamentals and develop basic programs using the language.

4. Google UX Design Professional Certificate

Best for: beginners
Learning duration: 6 months
Cost: $39/month

This UX design certification program by Google is designed for beginners as a fast-track pathway to a new career in UX design. For web developers, UX design skills can complement their skills and help them better understand the users they’re developing web applications for.

Over seven online classes, you will learn and practice the UX design process from the very beginning. This includes conducting UX research and applying user-centered, accessible, and equity-focused design. You will also learn to use popular UX tools such as Figma and Adobe XD.

By the end of the course, you will have a professional UX portfolio that includes three projects – a mobile app, a website, and a cross-platform product.

This certificate is offered through Coursera, which means you’ll be able to get a free trial for seven days. To continue learning after the trial ends, you’ll need to pay $39/month.

Suggested Certificate Courses

• Foundations of User Experience (UX) Design – explains foundational UX concepts, defines the factors of good UX design, and lists typical UX web designers’ responsibilities.
• Start the UX Design Process: Empathize, Define, and Ideate – explores the UX design process, including research methods, user empathy maps and personas, and solutions to user problems.
• Build Wireframes and Low-Fidelity Prototypes – focuses on creating wireframes and prototypes, both paper and digital.
• Conduct UX Research and Test Early Concepts – focuses on conducting usability studies, gathering feedback, and implementing the findings to the existing low-fidelity designs.

5. W3Cx Professional Certificate in Front-End Web Developer

• Best for: beginners
• Learning duration: 7 months
• Cost: $895.50

The Front-End Web Developer certification program by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) teaches all the fundamental coding skills for building interactive and responsive web apps.

You will get a basic understanding of the three primary front-end languages – HTML5, CSS, and JavaScript. In addition to learning their concepts, this web development course includes interactive examples for practicing and ensuring your code is correct.

This front-end development program is available through the edX platform. The complete training and the certificate cost $895.50. Fortunately, you can try it for free before paying.

Suggested Certificate Courses

• HTML5 and CSS Fundamentals – teaches the basics of writing a web page, the elements of HTML5 and CSS, and page layouts.
• HTML5 Coding Essentials and Best Practices – covers the simplified HTML5 elements, drawing and animating web graphics, and testing essential APIs.
• HTML5 Apps and Games – explains advanced HTML5 techniques for creating complex multimedia and games for the web.
• JavaScript Introduction – teaches the fundamentals of JavaScript for adding interactivity to web pages and how to debug it.

6. Cornell Certificate Program in Web Design and Development

• Best for: beginners
• Learning duration: 3 months
• Cost: $3,600

This Cornell certificate program on Web Design and Development is designed for aspiring web developers and back-end specialists who want to learn about front-end development.

Uplifting a design-first, code-second approach, students will learn to make informed design decisions based on the user’s needs. Lessons on HTML, CSS, and JavaScript will teach how to write proper code focusing on functionality and accessibility.

There are six online courses within this web development training, and they have to be completed in order. Each class is led by an instructor and consists of 35 students.

Upon completing this web development program, students will be able to produce functional, attractive, and interactive web pages and collect data inputs from the target audience.

This certification program costs $3,600 for the one-time payment. Alternatively, you can pay six monthly installments of $650 or three monthly payments of $1,250.

Suggested Certificate Courses

• Framing Front-End Web Development – explains the big picture of how users interact with websites and their needs. Besides coding, web development must serve the users and be attentive to accessibility, biases, and cultural sensitivity.
• Composition and Responsive Design – explores the CSS box model and how to apply concepts to create attractive, responsive, and user-centric websites.
• Improving User Experience with Interactivity – introduces JavaScript and explains how to make a site interactive. You will learn the basics of JS syntax, jQuery, and event-based programming concepts.
• Collecting Data with Forms – teaches how to develop a form for data collection. You will learn how to design, code, and validate the form.

7. MIT xPro Professional Certificate in Coding: Full Stack Development

• Best for: beginners, intermediate
• Learning duration: 32 weeks
• Cost: $6,950

This full-stack web developer certification by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is designed to prepare students with job-ready skills in the competitive full-stack development field.

Students will learn how to develop front-end web applications using the MERN (MongoDB, ExpressJS, React, and NodeJS) stack through this program. World-renowned experts in the faculty vet all learning materials.

Students will also receive personalized feedback, career guidance, networking opportunities, and participate in many hands-on portfolio projects. As these portfolio projects will be published on GitHub, students can showcase them to future employers by adding them to their web developer resume.

The full-stack development certification program costs $6,950. Luckily, there are loan options for US residents and monthly payment methods for international students. The installments start at $728/month.

Suggested Certificate Courses

• Web Development – explains vital web programming concepts, how to build web applications using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, and set up web developement tools like GitHub for code management.
• Front-End Web Development and React – explores how to build, test, and deploy a React application and build UI components using the React framework.
• Back-End Development – goes in-depth on building a full-stack website or an application using the MERN stack and creating a back-end API with Express.

8. BrainStation Web Development Certificate Course

• Best for: beginners
• Learning duration: 10 weeks
• Cost: $3,250

The Web Development professional certification course by BrainStation is a beginner-friendly front-end development program suitable for those who want to learn part-time. It offers offline and online courses in the US, UK, and Canada.

Students will learn how to build attractive, responsive websites using HTML and CSS. You’ll be able to work on multiple projects that you can include in your portfolio as it is a project-based web development program.

This program’s course instructors are experienced practitioners in the tech industry. As a result, students will gain up-to-date knowledge and new skills needed in today’s web development job market.

Financing options include an upfront payment of $3,250 or monthly payments starting from $290/month over 12 months. Several scholarships are available for aspiring web developers, including women in technology, diversity and inclusion, and not-for-profit scholarships.

Suggested Certificate Courses

• Markup & HTML – teaches foundational HTML knowledge and building basic websites.
• CSS Visual Styling – introduces CSS and how to incorporate it into HTML files to make web pages more unique and attractive.
• Flexible Layouts & Web Components – teaches how to code more complex layouts by flexbox and other advanced CSS.
• Responsive Design & Advanced Web Concepts – introduces a responsive graphic design, allowing the websites you code to adapt to any screen size.

9. Springboard Software Engineering Certification

• Best for: intermediate developers
• Learning duration: 9 months
• Cost: $9,900

The Springboard Software Engineering Certification is designed for those who have basic knowledge and skills in web development, primarily JavaScript.

With hands-on projects, personal mentorship, and one-on-one career coaching, graduates are guaranteed to either get a job in software development within six months of their graduation or a full refund.

During the software development training, you will complete four projects that you can include in your portfolio.
Besides learning to build web applications, you will also have the opportunity to craft a job search strategy, including negotiating offers and navigating interviews and tests.

To join this competitive software development program, you will have to go through three admissions processes: an application submission, an interview, and a skills survey.

There are other payment methods available other than the $9,900 upfront. If you pick the deferred tuition option, you’ll only have to pay a $700 deposit. Once you start your new career as a graduate, you’ll pay the rest of the tuition at $439/month.

Suggested Certificate Courses

• Front-End – introduces JavaScript and other industry-standard languages, culminating in the first large project for your portfolio. You will also learn DOM manipulation, version control systems, AJAX, and jQuery.
• Back-End with Python, Flask, and SQL – explores back-end development fundamentals. As the first capstone project, you’ll learn to build a website application using JavaScript on the front-end and Python on the back-end.
• Node and Express – teaches how to build applications in the back-end using Node and Express. You will learn how to make a REST API using these frameworks.
• ReactJS and Redux – explores technologies for scalable products, data structures, and algorithms in applications. With knowledge and skills from all the courses, you will create a full-stack application as the final capstone project.

10. CareerFoundry Full-Stack Web Development Program

• Best for: beginners
• Learning duration: 7 months
• Cost: $7,505

The Full-Stack Web Development certification program by CareerFoundry is designed for absolute beginners with no prior computer science experience. Successful graduates will get the practical knowledge and skills needed to begin a career as a full-stack web developer.

Throughout the training, you will build a portfolio out of the completed projects. In addition to coding lessons and web development projects, students will also receive one-on-one sessions with an expert mentor and tailored coaching from the career services team.

This web development program is suitable for those who have a full-time job. Students are free to set their schedule with a minimum of 15 hours of lessons per week. The job guarantee ensures that you will get a job as a web developer within 180 days after graduation. Otherwise, you will get a full refund.

Payment options include $7,505 upfront or $650/month for ten months after a deposit of $1,400. Alternatively, there are loan and deferred payment options via Ascent or Climb.

Suggested Certificate Courses

• Intro to Frontend Development – teaches HTML, web accessibility, CSS, Git version control, and code quality. By the end, you’ll be able to create a simple responsive website.
• Full-Stack Immersion – acts as a complete guide into full-stack web development. It explores JavaScript basics & functions, DOM interaction, APIs, Bootstrap, and jQuery. There are a total of six projects to complete.

Reasons to Get a Web Development Certification

Here are several reasons why becoming a certified web developer can be worth your while:

• More affordable than a university degree. Getting a computer science degree is usually significantly more expensive than a web developer certification.
• Structured learning. A proper certification program lets you learn in a more structured manner, helping you stay on track. It’s a better fit for people who struggle with self-learning methods.
• Adds credibility. A verified web development certificate formalizes your skills, proving your web and application development skills.
• Portfolio building. Most web development certifications are project-based, allowing you to practice what you learn by building websites and apps. Including your best projects into your web developer portfolio can increase your chances of impressing prospective employers or clients.
• Gain up-to-date knowledge and skills. Current practitioners in the industry teach many certifications. Therefore, you will be able to get up-to-date knowledge, skills, and insider insights.
• Increase salary. According to Indeed, the average web developer salary in the US is $67,311. This number can be higher for top web development companies and web developers with certification and experience. Furthermore, a course also teaches students to negotiate their salary when offered a job.

Conclusion

In this article, we have listed 10 of the best web development certifications that can give you an advantage in the industry, whether you’re planning to work in-house or as a freelance web developer.

Before starting your journey to become a certified web developer, remember to pick a certification program that suits your budget, needs, skill level, and schedule.

Taking web development certifications gives you an edge to develop your own website and even become a web designer. If you’re starting one, remember to use professional hosting for maximum website speed and performance.

We hope that with patience, persistence, and focus, you will be able to complete your chosen program and begin a fruitful new career in web development. Good luck.

Web Developer Certification FAQ

Now that you know about web developer certification, learn about the frequently asked questions here.