Learn Web Programming with Security Best Practices

Welcome to this comprehensive 3-month course designed for beginners who want to learn web development with security as a foundational principle. Throughout this journey, you'll master HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and basic backend development using Node.js/Express while building secure web applications.

The course consists of 3 lectures per week plus 1 practical coding session, structured to progressively build your skills from frontend fundamentals to creating a complete full-stack application with security best practices integrated at every step.

by London IT School

Month 1: Frontend Fundamentals & Security Awareness

Week 1: HTML Basics

Introduction to web development, HTML document structure, common tags, forms & input types

Week 2: CSS Styling

CSS fundamentals, box model, colors, text styling, layouts with Flexbox/Grid

Week 3: JavaScript Intro

Variables, data types, control flow, functions, DOM manipulation

Week 4: Security Basics & Git

XSS vulnerabilities, clickjacking, version control with Git & GitHub

Week 1: Introduction to Web Development & HTML

Welcome & Course Overview

Introduction to the course goals: building a secure full-stack application using HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Node.js/Express with security integrated at every step

Why Security Matters

Developers are the first line of defense; it's more cost-effective to build securely from the start than to fix vulnerabilities later

HTML Fundamentals

Learning tags, elements, attributes, and document structure to create the skeleton of web pages

Development Tools

Setting up VS Code, web browsers, Node.js, and Git/GitHub for version control

Weeks 2-3: CSS Styling & JavaScript Fundamentals

CSS Styling & Layout

Learn to transform plain HTML with Cascading Style Sheets using selectors, properties, and values through inline, internal, and external methods

Master the box model, color schemes, backgrounds, and text styling to create visually appealing layouts with Flexbox or Grid systems

JavaScript Basics

Understand JavaScript's role in web development for client-side interactivity, working with variables, data types, operators, and control flow

Learn DOM manipulation to select elements, change content, and handle events like clicks and mouseovers to create interactive web experiences

Week 4: Frontend Security Basics & Version Control

Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)

Learn about reflected, stored, and DOM-based XSS vulnerabilities and how they can compromise web applications

Practice prevention techniques including input sanitization and proper output encoding (using textContent vs innerHTML)

Clickjacking & UI Redressing

Understand how attackers can trick users into clicking disguised elements and learn prevention methods like X-Frame-Options headers

Git & GitHub

Master version control fundamentals with commands like init, add, commit, push, pull, and branch to manage code efficiently

Set up a GitHub account and repository to store and share your project code

Month 2: Advanced Frontend & Backend Introduction

Week 5: Advanced JavaScript & APIs

Master objects, arrays, ES6+ features, asynchronous JavaScript (callbacks, promises, async/await), and the Fetch API for external service requests

Week 6: Node.js & Express.js

Learn server-side JavaScript with Node.js, set up Express servers, create routes, and handle requests/responses with middleware

Week 7: Backend Security

Implement server-side input validation and learn to prevent SQL injection and command injection vulnerabilities

Week 8: Authentication & Authorization

Build secure user systems with password hashing (bcrypt), session management, and role-based access control

Weeks 5-6: Advanced JavaScript & Backend Foundations

Advanced JavaScript

Deepen your JavaScript skills with objects, arrays, ES6+ features, and asynchronous programming patterns

API Integration

Use the Fetch API to make requests to external services while understanding CORS security implications

Node.js Basics

Set up server-side JavaScript with Node.js and learn package management with NPM

Express Framework

Create a basic server with routing, request handling, and middleware implementation

Weeks 7-8: Backend Security & User Authentication

Server-Side Validation

Learn why client-side validation is insufficient and implement robust server-side validation for all user inputs

SQL Injection Prevention

Understand how SQL injection attacks work and implement prepared statements/parameterized queries as prevention

Secure Authentication

Implement password hashing with bcrypt, secure session management, and never store plaintext passwords

Authorization Controls

Build role-based access control systems to ensure users can only access appropriate resources

Month 3: Full Stack Application & Advanced Security

Security Testing & Maintenance

Week 12: Testing, logging, monitoring, and keeping dependencies updated

API Security & Deployment

Week 11: JWT authentication, rate limiting, HTTPS, and secure deployment

Advanced Security Implementation

Week 10: CSRF protection, security headers, and secure file uploads

4

Full Stack Integration

Week 9: Connecting frontend to backend with databases and CRUD operations

Final Project & Course Completion

By the end of this 12-week journey, you'll have built a complete, secure full-stack application incorporating all the security best practices learned throughout the course. Your final project will demonstrate your ability to create web applications with security built-in from the ground up.

You'll conduct security testing, implement proper logging and monitoring, and showcase your work to peers. This comprehensive foundation in secure web development will prepare you for further learning and real-world projects where security is a priority from day one.