10 Best Places to Learn System Design in 2024

These are the best places to learn Software Design and System Design online and prepare well for System Design Interviews in 2024

javinpaul
Javarevisited
15 min readSep 5, 2022

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image_credit — educative.io

Hello guys, if you are preparing for System design Interview and looking for best resources to master Software design and System design then you have come to the right place.

Earlier, I have shred best System Courses, Books, and System Interview Questions and in this article, I am going to share best places to learn System design in 2024.

Before we get to the best websites that will teach you everything you need to know about system design, let me tell you a little bit about what it really is.

Systems design is basically the process of defining elements of a system including modules, architecture, components, interface, and data for a system based on a specific set of requirements.

It can also refer to the process of defining, developing, and designing systems. These designs have to satisfy the specific needs of a company or an organization.

10 Best Websites for Software Design and System Design Interview Preparation in 2024

As a System designer, you have to make use of all the different modeling languages for expressing the information and knowledge in the structure of a system.

This system has to be defined by a consistent set of rules and definitions. It can also be defined in textual or graphical modeling languages.

There are different kinds of graphical modeling languages like the Unified Modeling Language, UML, Flowchart, Business Process Modeling Notation, and Systems Modeling Language.

There are also different types of design methods that you can make use of. They include Architectural Design, Logical Design, and Physical Design.

Here we have compiled a list of the best websites for learning system design. Keep reading to find out more.

1. Codemia.io (Best Place to Practice System Design Problems)

Codemia.io is a new website with a lot of System Design problems, 120+ to be precise, which you can practice online. It’s like Leetcode for System Design but with better feedback and learning experience.

Most of the people like Leetcode because the active learning it provides. Its a sheer joy to solve Leetcode problem without any help but when it comes to system deign, everything was passive.

You need to read, read and read.

While mock interviews from sites like tryExponent and DesignGuru is good for practice, there was a need for LeetCode like site for System Design and that’s where Codemia comes in.

At Codemia, now you can practice system design problems like the way you practice data structure and algorithms on Leetcode. With 120+ Practice Problems and 70 high quality solution, you can master System design in quick time without getting bored.

If you are an active learner like me then you will love Codemia, with community support and interactive learning this is one of the best place to learn System Design.

Here is the link to learn moreCodemia

When it comes to pricing its also much more affordable than any other platform with just $69/year (30% discount now, original price $99/year) this is just like a cost of book but with much more active learning experience. I highly recommend it.

2. Udemy [Best Platform for System Design Course]

This is a wonderful website that will teach you everything you need to know about system designing along with grokking from absolute scratch. In this way, it is absolutely perfect for complete beginners.

Udemy is a perfect starting guide for beginners looking to enter the amazing world of system design.

Using this fantastic website, you will learn about all the core features of advanced system design. You will also become a very advanced system designer. You will be able to master both system design and grokking.

Here are the best System design courses from Udemy which are worth looking:

By the time you finish all the courses on Udemy, you will become an expert system designer and also be ready to solve those complex System design problems like how to design YouTube, Instagram, WhatsApp or a messaging queue.

3. ByteByteGo by Alex Yu (best Website for learning System Design)

This is another amazing platform to learn about System design concepts and also prepare for System Design Interview. This website is created by Alex Yu, author of popular System Design Interview — An insider’s guide books, one of the most recommend books for System Design interview.

This website also serves as the digital version of his book but it offers much more than that. ‘

Alex has shared detailed, step by step framework to solve system design questions from interviews like How to design YouTube and How to design a chat system.

He also regular share interesting content on System Design which are quite useful to learn about essential System design concepts like scaling, caching and distribute messaging.

If you are preparing for System design interview then I highly recommend you to checkout this website and join his course.

Here is the link to join this course — 10% discount on ByteByteGo

You can also use code JALJAD to get 10% discount, specially secured for Javarevisited reader.

4. Educative [Interactive Courses for System Design]

Educative is one of my favorite for learning system design on the internet right now. It is basically a website that has been literally created to prepare you for a system design interview.

Through this website, you will also get an idea of how to approach system design in general.

It is also one of the only websites out there that will teach you about large-scale distributed system design problems in painstaking detail. It does not matter even if you are an expert in the field.

I am pretty sure that you will find this website a valuable learning experience.

The smart people who have created this website have also gone the extra mile to give you a list of design choices.’

This list will make you understand the requirement, compare different approaches, and finally come up with a suitable solution for the complex problem that you are facing.

Here are the best System Design Courses from Educative.io:

What makes Educative really interesting is also the fact that the instructors do not spoon-feed you anything. You are required to work on the problem and come up with innovative solutions yourself.

If you are looking for just one website that will thoroughly prepare you for a system design interview, you do not need to look any further.

Here is a nice System Design cheat sheet from Educative for quick revision:

The instructors on Educative.io will also share with you their first-hand experiences on how to solve a complex system design problem.

You will learn about all the different tips, tricks, concepts, and approaches for solving system design questions in general.

You will also have the opportunity to practice a lot of classic system design problems like the web crawler, URL shortener, and designing a restaurant reservation system.

These System Design courses on Educative will teach you about different techniques that are useful for scaling distributed systems. You will get an overview of database technologies and NoSQL solutions.

In addition, you will also learn how to use caching for improving scalability and performance.

By the way, you can either join this course individually or you can take an Educative Unlimited subscription for just $14.9 per month on annual plan (recommended) to get access to their 350+ high quality, text-based, interactive courses to learn key skills for coding interviews, software development, and technology.

5. Exponent

This is another great website to learn about System design and prepare for System design interview, especial for FAANG companies.

There System Design Interview Course has 36 lessons and it provides solutions of system design questions like Design Twitter, Instagram, Parking lot, design a Web Crawler, and many other popular Software design questions.

They also have dedicated course for different FAANG companies, For example they have a dedicate course for Amazon SDE interview which not only prepare you for tech round but also conduct mock interviews to check your actual preparation level. They also have a similar courses for Google interview as well.

The best thing I liked about Exponent is their mock interviews which is like real drill as well 1-to-1 coaching and interactive discussion on popular interview questions from Google, Facebook, Microsoft and Amazon,

If you are preparing for System design interviews on FAANG companies then I highly recommend this course and website and you can join them for just $12 a month now (70% discount).

Here is the link to join Exponent — Try Exponent now

6. DesignGuru

DesignGuru is another awesome site with lots of system design tutorial and courses, particular for interviews. It’s also a popular online platform for Software Engineers to prepare for Coding interviews.

If you have been taking online courses then you may have come across courses like Grokking the System Design Course or Grokking the Coding Interview Courses, well these are the courses which have been created by Arslan Ahmad and available DesignGuru.

I have been taking their courses on Educative.io but now that they have moved out from that platform and it create their own online platform, it make sense to join them for just their Grokking interview courses.

If you are also preparing for coding interviews then you can join DesignGuru to get access of not just their System Design courses but also many other coding interview courses

Here is the link to join DesignGuru Join DeisignGuru

But, they are not stopping there, they are creating more and better courses to assist Software Engineers cracking coding interviews of FAANG and other technical companies.

So joining them will definitely help you with your tech interview preparation. You can also use discount code and coupon GURU for 30% discount, only for Javarevisited followers.

They even offer a bundle of all courses where you can buy all of their courses for big discount. If you want to excel on coding interview and prepare well, I highly recommend to get this bundle, its really useful.

7. Coursera

Coursera is another awesome place to learn in-demand tech skill online. The best thing about Coursera is that their course materials are designed and delivered by world class universities and top tech companies like Google, AWS, and IBM.

When it comes to Software design, I really liked Software Design and Architecture Specialization from University of Alberta, which contains a couple of nice courses related to software design.

The fantastic courses on Coursera will act as a great brief introduction to the amazing world of modern system design. It is perfect for beginners as you will learn about system design from absolute scratch. You will learn exactly what system design is and why is it used.

Coursera is also a great choice that will help you take your skills in object-oriented design to another level. You will be able to do this by using object-oriented system design rather than the traditional system design techniques.

The courses on this website will also teach you how to pass your system design interview. You will also learn how to get jobs at Google. Facebook, Microsoft, and Amazon.

Here is the link to join this course Software Design and Architecture Specialization

By the way, If you are planning to join multiple Coursera courses or specializations, then consider taking a Coursera Plus subscription which provides you unlimited access to their most popular courses, specialization, professional certificate, and guided projects. It costs around $59/ per month but is worth it because you get access to more than 7000+ courses and projects, and you can also get unlimited certificates.

8. System Design Primer GitHub (Free)

This is another awesome resources where you will find a collection of topics, articles, tutorials to prepare for System design interview preparation.

There are also solution of common System design problems. I highly recommend you to checkout this place if you want to learn System design in depth. Its completely free tool

9. Pluralsight

Pluralsight is a fantastic website that will help you polish your machine learning and system design skills. You will be able to do this by grokking your way to getting a very good machine learning job.

Using the exciting courses on this website, you will also be able to learn the fundamentals of designing in Java.

You will also be able to start your amazing journey by making use of these amazing courses. When it comes to System design, I really liked their Patterns for Building Distributed Systems for The Enterprise course, its one of the best Software design course on Pluralsight.

It is perfect for experienced developers In the fantastic courses on Pluralsight, you will learn about all the core features of domain-driven system design, CAP theorem, CQRS etc.

You will also become a very advanced system designer. You will be able to master domain-driven system design.

By the way, you would need a Pluralsight membership to join this course which costs around $29 per month or $299 per year (14% discount). I highly recommend this subscription to all programmers as it provides instant access to more than 7000+ online courses to learn any tech skill. Alternatively, you can also use their 10-day-free-pass to watch this course for FREE.

10. YouTube

Many people already know that YouTube is probably the best place to learn anything and that includes System Design.

While its not easy to find the best videos on System Design on YouTube, there are plenty of great System design tutorials and resources are available like YouTube Channel by ByteByteGo and Exponent.

There are also many free System Design courses available on YouTube, the most up-to-date and comprehensive one is from FreeCodeCamp and I strongly recommend you to check that out.

Btw, if you need more free resources, you can also checkout this list of best free Software Design courses for beginners and experienced developers.

11. Zero to Mastery Academy [ZTM]

Not many people know that but ZTM or Zero to Mastery academy has a great System Design course for tech interviews called Master the Coding Interview: System Design + Architecture .

What sets this System Design course by Zero to Mastery apart from other system design courses is its emphasis on seeing the bigger picture and executing on it.

It goes beyond low-level coding and encourages students to understand the broader system they are a part of, fostering a deeper comprehension of the “why” behind their work. By providing a problem-solving framework and practical knowledge gained from Yihua’s industry experience, the course empowers students to become better problem solvers and programmers.

Many people who have joined this course is also placed on top tech companies such as Google, Tesla, Amazon, Apple, IBM, Uber, Facebook, and Shopify, among others.

By enrolling in the course, you will also gain access to an exclusive online community where they can learn alongside fellow students, alumni, mentors, TAs, and instructors.

The interactive learning environment enhances the overall experience and facilitates networking opportunities.

Overall, one of the best online course to not just master System design concepts but also crack coding interviews on top tech companies and also progress to become senior software engineer.

Here is the link to join this course — Master the Coding Interview: System Design + Architecture

Btw, you would need a ZTM membership to watch this course which costs around $39 per month but also provides access to many super engaging and useful courses like his Python course. You can also use my code FRIENDS10 to get a 10% discount on any subscription you choose.

System Design Frequently Asked Questions

Now, let’s see common doubts and questions about learning System design and Software design from programmers and developers.

1. What exactly is system design?

Systems design is basically the process of defining elements of a system including modules, architecture, components, interface, and data for a system based on a specific set of requirements. It can also refer to the process of defining, developing, and designing systems.

2. Can I become a system designer?

As a system designer, you have to make use of all the different modeling languages for expressing the information and knowledge in the structure of a system.

This system has to be defined by a consistent set of rules and definitions. It can also be defined in textual or graphical modeling languages.

3. What should I learn as a system designer?

There are different kinds of graphical modeling languages like the Unified Modeling Language, UML, Flowchart, Business Process Modeling Notation, and Systems Modeling Language.

There are also different types of design methods that you can make use of. They include Architectural Design, Logical Design, and Physical Design.

4. What are common System Design Interview questions?

Many questions like how to design YouTube, Instagram, WhatsApp, and distributed messaging queues are popular System questions which you can practice before interviews. I have shared 25 system design questions here, you can check

That’s all about the 10 best places to learn Software Design and System Design in 2024. These sites are not just great resources to prepare for System Design Interview but also to improve design of the software and applications you are designing. If you liked this list of the best websites for learning system design, feel free to share it with your friends and family.

You can also drop a comment if you have any doubts about the system design and we will get back to you in an instant.

I have no doubt that the websites in this list will transform you from a complete beginner to a system design expert within a matter of weeks or months.

Other Programming Articles and Tutorials you may like

Thanks for reading this article so far. If you know any excellent online resources like websites or programming platforms to learn System Design and Software Designing, especially for beginners, which you think complements these two websites, then feel free to share.

Everybody loves great resources and happy learning System design.

P. S. — By the way, DesignGuru.io also have many other Grokking courses to prepare for essential coding interview topics like OOP Design, System Design, Dynamic Programming etc and you can get access to all of their courses for a big discount by joining their All course bundle. You can also use code GURU to get 30% discount.

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javinpaul
Javarevisited

I am Java programmer, blogger, working on Java, J2EE, UNIX, FIX Protocol. I share Java tips on http://javarevisited.blogspot.com and http://java67.com