Online courses are a quick way to gain skills that will boost your resume and raise your value as a remote job candidate. While not all online courses are free, there are several reputable certifications that won’t take up too much time or money. Here we detail 17 free short courses that will help you to take charge of your skills and career development and start building towards your professional goals.

Free Online Marketing Courses

Marketing Fundamentals: Who Is Your Customer? by EdX

In this free course, you will earn key marketing concepts to implement customer acquisition strategies to acquire the customers interested in your business. The course will also provide you with a toolkit you can apply to real-world situations. Topics include the marketing mix, segmentation, targeting and positioning, marketing strategy and consumer behaviour.

Google Analytics for Beginners by Google

This course shows new Google Analytics users how to create an account, implement tracking code, and set up data filters.  The course will also demonstrate how to analyze basic Audience, Acquisition, and Behavior reports, and set up goals and campaign tracking.

Business Blogging by HubSpot Academy

It doesn’t matter if you’re a freelancer just starting your own business or the CEO of a successful company, the thought of creating a business blog is a big project. In this course, you’ll learn how to craft a blogging strategy that drives business growth, create quality blog content that customers love, and build a guest blogging strategy that’s powered by SEO.

Video Storytelling for Social Media by Social Creators

This one-hour crash course will help you make high-quality videos with your iPhone or Android smartphone. You will also learn basic storytelling structure to start using video storytelling to increase social media engagement.

SEO Training Course by Moz, via Udemy

If you want your blog posts, landing pages, and lead gen resources to perform well on Google (of course you do), you’ll need a basic understanding of SEO. Get it in this popular guide.

Email Marketing by HubSpot Academy

This free email marketing course will teach you how to create an email marketing strategy that grows your business, and your career. From contact management and segmentation to email deliverability and analyzing your email sends, you’ll learn how to build an email marketing strategy that is human and helpful and builds trust with your contacts.

Coding Courses

Learn to Code by Codecademy

Online coding tutorials with easy-to-follow instructions, immediate feedback, and a tested curriculum that can help anyone learn how to code.  You can dive right in and take courses that teach you everything from HTML & CSS, JavaScript and SQL to  Bash/Shell, Python, Ruby and C++.

Java Tutorial for Complete Beginners, by John Purcell via Udemy

Just like the courses title says, this class is designed for anyone with no prior programming knowledge. As long as you have a desire to learn to code, you’re fit to take the class. And don’t get intimidated by the large number of lessons. Although 75 lectures are taught, most of them are under 20 minutes long, and the time commitment is perfectly manageable if distributed well across a few weeks.

HTML5 Coding Essentials and Best Practices by edX

Anyone with a basic knowledge of HTML and familiarity with CSS is encouraged to take this course taught by the World Wide Web Consortium (also known as W3C). You’ll learn to use the new simplified HTML5 tags, animate fun web graphics, and practice coding techniques through multiple interactive exercises.

Design Courses

Graphic Design Essentials by HubSpot Academy

Need to become a graphic designer? Have less than an hour? This course by HubSpot Academy offers basic concepts in graphic design that have proven to be excellent marketing strategies. 

Adobe Illustrator for Absolute Beginners by EduOnix

Learn how to master Adobe Illustrator with real world examples.

Ecommerce courses and webinars

Small Business Academy by Amazon

Amazon is a program of in-person seminars, community college courses, and webinars designed for small business owners and their employees to hear best practices for successful selling in Amazon stores.

Dropshipping 101 by Shopify Academy

Corey Ferreira shares his methods for finding a product to sell, testing its popularity, and building an unforgettable brand.

Product Photography for Ecommerce by Shopify Academy

In this free course, you’ll learn how to set-up your own home studio and take product photos with your smartphone or digital SLR.

UX/UI Courses

UX Fundamentals by Jim Webb

This free course will teach you how to apply user-centered design principles in order to improve your website and mobile app design. A must-take course for anyone working in web design and development.

Business Courses

Free Online MBA by Smartly

Designed with business professors from top residential MBA programs, Smartly’s proprietary curriculum combines a self-guided software approach with collaborative online case studies and group projects. It’s flexible, yet structured for the modern professional. The program is tailored for early-career professionals from a diverse set of industry backgrounds, and is highly selective. It values, but does not assume, prior business experience.

Becoming an Entrepreneur by edX

This class will kick-start your entrepreneurial path by teaching you the mindset and skills needed to succeed in the space of business.

So no more excuses.

We’ve provided you with the best lists of free courses. Now, it’s time to make a move.

What skills do you want to improve in the near future? Tell us in the comments below.