Best Free Online Courses To Help You Self-Improve

If you are looking to polish your skills by taking up new courses, all you need is determination and an internet connection. While that may sound too good to be true, it actually isn’t- there are numerous paid and unpaid courses available online. The courses range from generalized genres to specialized skills training. Some of these courses even offer free online certificates after the successful completion of the course.

The experts have shared their top picks for free online courses.

1. HubSpot for Digital Marketing Courses

“HubSpot offers excellent free courses in a wide range of areas in Digital Marketing. I particularly love their Content Marketing course, as it really takes you through all of the topics you need to know. From planning content, to researching content, and of course, writing online content too. This is an ideal course to start if you need to improve your online content writing skills, or try to score a new Content Marketing job. 

“I also love their Email Marketing, and their Social Media Marketing free courses as well. 

Once you complete each of their courses, you get a free certificate, which you can add to your CV or Linkedin profile. Check them all out here.”

Niamh Jordan, Content Writer Which Watch Next

2. Project Management: Udemy

“Introduction to Project Management on Udemy is a gateway into the world of project management. All industries require project managers to effectively plan and execute projects of different magnitudes. Taking this course will enable you to penetrate into the management level of any organization.”

3. Conflict Resolution: Coursera

“Conflict Resolution Skills by Coursera enables one to gain the skills needed to handle tense negotiations in an effective way. Communication is the key to smoothly running business and personal operations and this course enables you to obtain favourable resolutions in your interactions.”

4. The Science of Happiness: EdX

“The Science of Happiness by EdX teaches positive psychology that promotes a meaningful life. The principles and practices needed to eliminate undue stress are at our fingertips with this course and it is available to everyone with an internet connection.”

Alex Mastin, CEO and Recruiter, Home Grounds

5. Customer Service Course

“What will you learn: Basics of customer service and how to provide customer needs 

Where: Oxford Home Study Centre

“In this Customer Service Course, you can earn a certificate of completion. It has been created with the aim of helping people with their career advancements. With it, you can learn how to evaluate customer needs and how to provide these needs.”

6. Brand Management: Aligning Business, Brand and Behaviour

“What will you learn: What is brand management and why do you need it

Where: Coursera

“In this course, you can enjoy a compilation of videos from different branding professionals. You will have a deeper understanding of brand management by the end of the course. A free online certification will also be given to you upon completion.”

7. Fundamentals of Digital Marketing

“What will you learn: Digital marketing skills

Where: Google

“This free online career course from Google comes with 26 modules of video tutorials. You will need more or less than 40 hours to complete it. It’s also accredited by The Open University and the Interactive Advertising Bureau Europe. By the end; you’ll get a certification as well as learnings on how to professionally boost yourself.”

8. Machine Learning

“What will you learn: What is machine learning and why is it important

Where: Coursera

“If you want to learn the science of making computers do what you need without the need of being programmed, you need to take the Machine Learning course. It’s a course that Standford University itself offers and comes with a free certificate upon completion. By the end of the course, you’ll have one of the most invaluable skills set in today’s market.”

Arnold Chapman, Founder & CEO – ELDFocus.com

9. FreeCodeCamp

“A free certification course platform I would highly recommend for students and professionals looking to get into technology-related roles is freeCodeCamp. It is a non-profit organization that offers certifications in a variety of courses such as website design, artificial intelligence, and information security.   

“I have personally earned a free certification course in data analysis using python, and I find their free certification courses to be great for beginners with little to no background in the technology field.” 

Chuky Ofoegbu, editor of Sojourning Scholar; a platform that provides higher education advising and career coaching to college students. 

10. Google Data Analytics Professional

“One of the best online certificate courses is the Google Data Analytics Professional Certification course. Although this course is paid, you can apply for a full scholarship. This course will help you to be a professional data analyst. It requires almost six months to complete. “However, if you can work hard like me, you can achieve it within two months. 

Most importantly, you can complete a capstone project to improve your practical skill in the last module. As we’re living in a world driven by data, it can be a life-changing opportunity for you. Interestingly, anyone can complete this course. No fundamental programming language knowledge isn’t required. You’ll learn R, SQL, and Google Sheet.

“Apart from that, IBM offers another course on the same topic. Like the first one, it’s free too. However, the standard of the Google course is far better than the IBM course.”

11. Financial Markets: Yale University

“Another great course is ‘Financial Markets’, offered by Yale University. It’ll help you to understand the risk in financial markets and teach you how to solve it.

“You can access all of these courses at coursera.com. If you apply for a scholarship, they’ll give you the result within 15 days.”

Atiqur Rahman, Google certified data analyst and Founder of cleantidyhub.com

12. SEMRush Academy’s Courses

“Semrush Academy’s courses and exams are absolutely free and are available to anybody with no strings attached. You will gain access to a free subscription for the tools and all content within the Academy which is very extensive. I like the fact that they update their content on a regular basis to keep up with new industry trends and developments, and offer a wide range of digital marketing courses on topics such as SEO (search engine optimization), PPC (pay per click), and SMM (social media marketing), content marketing. 

“These marketing courses are perfect for anyone new to digital marketing, or those looking to brush up on their existing skills. Once you’ve completed the Academy’s exams, you’ll get an email with a PDF version of your certificate. You can download it, send it via email, share it on social media, and even use it as a piece of digital marketing course accreditation. Semrush can’t be beaten for self-improvement courses with certification.”

Nicole Arroyo, Editor-In-Chief Aquarium Store Depot