Today I’ve compiled a list of the websites I used—and continue to use most often to find help in my programming endeavors.

Whether you want to learn a language, you’re trying to get used to some new software, or you can’t seem to resolve a bug, you will find these sites frequently come in handy.

I have personally used every site on this list and found them to be exceptionally useful.

Please keep in mind that there are many other great resources out there. Which ones you end up using often heavily depends on the language and software you are working with.

I hope there is at least one site I have mentioned below that you haven’t heard of before and which you find as helpful as I do!

1. Stack Overflow

Stack Overflow is an absolutely essential tool to have in your toolbox. It’s a massive community of developers which has asked and answered millions of questions.

Regardless of which language you’re learning, you have a very good chance of finding answers there.

Stack Overflow was my go-to site when I was learning Swift. Whether I had encountered an issue or I was figuring out how to do something new, I was almost always able to obtain guidance there.

In the event that you do to encounter a problem to which you can’t find a solution, it’s very easy to sign up and ask your own question.

2. Unity Forum and Unity Answers

If you’re building games with Unity3D, you’ll find their forum and Unity Answers very helpful.

While the forum should be reserved for topics that can or should be discussed, Answers is geared more towards a Stack Overflow-like question and answer style.

If you’re struggling to make something work, you can usually find help on one of these two sites.

3. YouTube

YouTube is an amazing resource for helping you learn to code.

Although it’s not always as effective as Stack Overflow or Unity Answers at answering your questions, it’s a great platform to find tutorials on.

My first steps in Swift were following YouTube tutorials, word for word, line by line.

4. Khan Academy

I tried programming for the first time when I was twelve years old and my dad introduced me to Khan Academy’s Hour of Code.

Their JavaScript lessons and tutorials are great to help you understand the fundamentals of programming.

Initially, I started with JavaScript on their site. Later on I transitioned to Swift. The switch was relatively easy—once you get the basics, moving to another language is generally quite painless.

Completing the Hour of Code is definitely an effective way to kick off your programming journey.

5. Udemy

Udemy is a hub for online courses about a plethora of different topics. It’s a nice tool for getting your bearings in a new space, like iOS development or AI.

The only drawback is that their courses aren’t free. This is why I strongly advise you to try other websites from this list first.

However, if you do plan to purchase a course from Udemy, I recommend doing so during one of their sales. They have them quite regularly, and you can usually pick up several hundred dollars worth of material for a fraction of the price.

6. W3Schools

While learning HTML and CSS, W3Schools was one of the main sites I used to find help. I found their comprehensive descriptions and explanations of the code effective and easy to understand.

They also have content about various other concepts and languages.

7. Microsoft Developer Network Forum

The Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) Forum is an awesome place to find help.

I have mainly used it while working with C# in Visual Studio, but they have sub-forums for a multitude of languages and platforms.