Here Are 43 of the Best Online Developer Communities to Join in 2024

Software development is an immensely interesting, rewarding, and engaging field — but it’s also just as challenging.

Today, succeeding in software engineering or development is practically impossible without some kind of support system to rely on — like a developer community that understands your qualms and issues and provides some answers from like-minded professionals.

With so many languages, tools, frameworks, and libraries out there, having access to countless colleagues worldwide that can help, mentor, or guide you with feedback and support will significantly increase your chances of succeeding in any software development job. Also, the best online communities allow developers to connect, network with other developers, and share their failures, successes, and general experiences within their industries. Harness the power of online developer communities to stay updated on the latest trends in custom Drupal development.

In this post, we’ve fine-tooth-combed the interwebz to give you our take on the cream of the crop when it comes to online groups for developers. From niche sites focused on one particular programming language to massive meta communities, you’re sure to find your tribe below.

Now, without further ado —

Here are some of the best communities for developers out there!

General Developer Communities

While there are plenty of niche developer forums and programming communities for specific tools and languages, there are also some general developer communities that everyone can benefit from joining — and here are some of our top picks!

Arc Community

Arc is built specifically for remote developers. As our slogan, “Remote but not alone,” implies, we aim to connect WFH and remote devs and software engineers across the globe with one another to help each other succeed from anywhere. Ask career questions, take polls, or just network with other great people in your space.

Arc is the radically different remote job search platform for developers where companies apply to you. We’ll feature you to great global startups and tech companies hiring remotely so you can land a great remote job in 14 days.

✔️ Rather than applying to job after job, have companies apply to you
✔️ Save time by batching your interviews in 14 days
✔️ High-quality opportunities only: both companies and developers are vetted
✔️ Receive personal coaching and advice to maximize your offers
✔️ Permanent remote jobs, freelancing roles, and contract openings available
✔️ Completely free of cost for developers!

Arc makes it easier than ever for software developers and engineers to find great remote jobs. Sign up today and get started!

But, when you join Arc, you’re not just joining a great community of remote developers. We have over 30,000 remote jobs from more than 19,000 companies, including Arc Fast Apply opportunities. Combined with the career resources we have, as well — technical interview guides, how to write a resume, remote developer salary explorer, and more — we hope to provide you with everything you need to stand out to recruiters and land yourself the ideal software development career!

Click here to join Arc as a developer

GitHub

Practically a must for everyone working in software development, GitHub houses over 40 million engineers and developers who learn, collaborate and share their code via the platform. Also, the GitHub Community Forum is practically a treasure trove of valuable tips and information for any developer. If there’s one place where you can follow discussions, share ideas, and get answers to your questions, it’s here.

And, to top it all off, you can use their GitHub Pages (repo-hosted websites) to be the free home of your web developer portfolio or professional website.

Stack Overflow

Stack Overflow is another valuable open community for all kinds of coders. It’s one of the most helpful software engineer communities because you’re likely to find answers to even the most challenging problems in coding there. Plus, you get to share knowledge with tons of colleagues and even find your dream job. So far, Stack Overflow has become one of the 50 most popular websites on the entire Internet — and it has reached 100 million active users per month.

Reddit

There’s a reason why Reddit has successfully laid claim to being the “front page of the Internet” — it’s home to hundreds of thousands of unique communities that present the chance for authentic human connection and endless conversation. You can choose which specific “subreddits” to follow — each of which is its own microcosm of interaction and information.

So, naturally, there is an enormous number of subreddits for software engineers and developers. In places like /r/Coding and /r/AskProgramming, you can find answers to all kinds of questions, from specific technical problems to tips on job hunting and reaching a decent life-work balance.

Dev.to

While all of the niches, programming languages, and frameworks we’ve listed here have their own web communities — chances are you’ll also find plenty of people talking about them on Dev.to as well. This is one of the largest communities of software developers on the Internet, where over 700,000 devs who code in all sorts of environments discuss their work.

Built in-house on their own, open-source forum software, skilled and newbie developers alike from around the world meet here to write blog posts, share feedback, and learn from one another. From time to time, you’ll also see big names in the tech and startup arena sponsoring neat events. At the time of writing (October 2021), Dev.to is partnering with Digital Ocean, who is hosting “Hacktoberfest,” a month-long celebration of developers contributing to open source projects.

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Codementor Community

The Codementor Community is a vibrant stomping ground for senior developers, junior developers, and everyone in between (Codementor is an Arc product). There, you can exchange ideas, learn from developer mentors, and even customize your reading list of programming articles and coding tutorials.

A nifty feature: you can use one login to access both Codementor and Arc!

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Game Developer Communities

With the rise of indie game development in the past decade, more and more people have been getting into game development on their own rather than joining an established studio. However, remote collaboration can be complex even with a small team — and both amateur and experienced developers would do well to join an online community where they can pose their questions to a broader professional audience.

GameDev.net

GameDev.net is one of the best places for people who need help with the technical aspect of game design and development. However, there is plenty of discussion on the social and personal aspects of working in the game industry as well.

It’s one of the oldest web resources for game developers, with the first iteration of the website being established in 1999. And it’s more active than ever today, with tons of tutorials, forums, project showcases, and developer blogs that can help anyone working in game design and development.

Unity Forum

There are plenty of different game engines used by developers these days — however, Unity is undoubtedly one of the most popular ones out there. Considering that, it’s no wonder that the Unity Forum is one of the most active game developer communities on the internet.

These forums aren’t just a great place to find Unity tutorials — you can find discussions on the latest gaming trends, support, and documentation for various tools, as well as answers to a wide range of game design questions. If you need help with anything from world-building and UI to scripting and other technical stuff, you can find it all here.

Discord

There’s practically no need to introduce the most popular instant messaging and VoIP platform in the world of gaming — but we’d still be remiss not to mention Discord. Discord isn’t a community but rather a platform that countless communities of every kind call home.

And while most of them are gamers and not game developers, there are still plenty of channels like Game Dev League where devs discuss and showcase their work. Moderators are abundant, the servers run smoothly, and the UI is straightforward — practically everything you need in an online community platform. In today’s highly competitive gaming industry, partnering with top games development companies is crucial for bringing your gaming concept to life.

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Python Developer Communities

As one of today’s most widely used programming languages, Python has attracted a global community — with millions of software engineers and developers working and interacting both offline and online in thousands of physical and virtual locations.

That being said, there are a couple of prominent online communities that every Python dev should join.

Official Python Forum

The official Python forum is one of the global Python community’s main hubs, where members with diverse experiences, personalities, and skills come together to discuss their work and careers. It’s one of the most positive and fastest-growing Python communities anywhere — largely thanks to the savvy moderation of its staff.

Real Python

Real Python is one of the most valuable resources for any budding Python developer — housing thousands of professional video lessons and tutorials on every aspect of the popular programming language.

But while all of this content is great for boosting your skillset, there’s also a vibrant Real Python Community Slack where developers discuss career and coding questions. So if you’re looking for a virtual water cooler to hang out at, this is a great choice.

PySlackers

Speaking of Slack communities dedicated to Python — the deftly named PySlackers is one of the most inclusive and enthusiastic communities for all kinds of Python devs. From people who are just beginning to learn the language to those who have built their whole careers around it, you’re sure to find them represented here.

Apart from lively discussions on all things Python, members also have access to an excellent library of learning resources for this particular language.

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Web Development Communities

If you’re itching to meet like-minded web developers and discuss new technologies, share your ideas, and ask and answer technical questions — take a look at these couple of online communities!

Webdeveloper.com

Webdeveloper.com is a popular, no-frills, and easy-to-use web development forum that hosts a wide range of discussions on all kinds of topics — from HTML and CSS to Ruby and SQL. This website doesn’t really require much introduction; it’s simple and straightforward, which is why we like it.

And its forums cover all kinds of questions, including site management, server-side, and client-side development. The discussions are rigorous and lively, and the atmosphere is a bit less intimidating than at places like Stack Overflow, so it’s excellent for relative beginners in web dev, as well.

/r/webdev

The /r/webdev subreddit is one of the most active Reddit communities on all things concerning web development — both back-end and front-end. Plus, its affiliated subreddit, /r/web_design, is a great place to ask and answer more design-related questions.

CodeProject

CodeProject is an ever-growing community of talented and dedicated programmers and web developers — millions of members write incredibly helpful articles on all things programming, and there are plenty of web development topics covered as well. In addition, the community section of the website is quite active, where members post questions on specific technical issues and other skilled web developers answer them quickly.

Hashnode

Hashnode is another global programming community where experienced developers answer questions, give suggestions, share their stories, and provide feedback on ongoing projects. Users post micro-blogs about technical issues or real-life development dilemmas, and community members answer and share them — you can follow specific prolific authors or tags on specific programming languages.

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Mobile Developer Communities

Mobile app development has never been bigger than it is today — with smartphones and tablets now being as ubiquitous as laptops and PCs, it’s no wonder millions of developers around the world are banding together to create the ultimate mobile software.

If you’re one of them, joining one of the many amazing iOS and Android dev communities is always a great idea.

XDA Developers

XDA is one of the oldest mobile dev communities in the world. It was founded by Windows Mobile developers in 2003, but they would largely switch to discussions on Android development by the early 2010s.

This community would go on to become the largest online source of information on Android development in the world. And while this is still a community predominantly dedicated to Google’s mobile OS, they also have a smaller forum of iOS developers who share useful information as well.

Apple Developer

While many of the websites we’ve mentioned above are home to vibrant iOS developer communities (such as Reddit, Dev.to, and XDA) — there’s still no place like home. And that’s why the official Apple Developer website hosts one of the best moderated and most useful dev forums for iOS (and, of course, macOS, watchOS, SwiftUI, Xcode, iPadOS, and tvOS).

People constantly share comments on various development topics with both their colleagues and Apple engineers — which is particularly handy when devs need help with a particular problem.

iOS Developers Slack Community

The iOS Developers Slack Community is a group of more than 35,000 members who are passionate about iOS app development. The invite-only Slack group is committed to cultivating a welcoming and inspiring community for like-minded developers and entrepreneurs.

MacRumors Forums

MacRumors Forums is where you can get news, stats, and updates relevant to iOS app development. The site features informative blogs for iOS and Mac, a buyer’s guide, and an extensive selection of developer forums. Subforums here are separated by Apple technology, such as Macs, Apple wearables, Apple TV, software, iPhones, and iPads.

r/iOSProgramming

The iOS Programming Subreddit boasts more than 114,000 Redditors, and, in this subreddit, you can find articles, code samples, open-source projects, and discussions related to iOS app development. The r/iosProgramming subreddit also covers macOS, watchOS, tvOS development, Swift, and Objective-C.

iOS on Stack Overflow

Stack Overflow’s iOS Tag is the first place many developers turn to when they need answers or have questions on iOS development. You can easily see who the most active users are and monitor answers with the most votes. For language-specific questions, you can visit the Stack Overflow tags for Objective-C and Swift.

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Java Developer Communities

Java is one of the most versatile programming languages in the world — used for all kinds of desktop, mobile, and web applications. Unsurprisingly, it’s amassed a huge following among developers, who gather and discuss Java in many online communities.

Java Programming Forums

As self-explanatory as website names go, Java Programming Forums is just that — a niche, but lively forum that is home to over 80,000 Java developers with varying degrees of experience. If you’ve got a question related to Java code or you’re looking for learning resources, this is the place for you.

Oracle Java Community

Considering the people at Oracle created Java, it stands to reason their community would house some excellent Java devs. And that’s precisely the case — the Java section on Oracle Communities is one of the most active Java dev communities on the Internet.

JavaScript Developer Communities

There’s no real need to point out the omnipresent nature of JavaScript — practically no website on the World Wide Web runs without it. And that’s why we’ll share some of the many online communities dedicated to JS development.

Reactiflux

Seeing as React is one of the most widely used JavaScript frameworks for front-end web development, having a whole community of React devs to rely on for questions is always good. And Reactiflux fits that bill perfectly — it’s not only a gathering place for almost 150,000 React.js developers, but the Facebook staff and individual devs who maintain the framework also tend to hang around there.

Meteor

Meteor.com provides introductory guides, tutorials, news, question forums, an informative blog, and meetups.

Ember Discuss

Ember Discuss is a discussion forum dedicated to the Ember.js framework. There, you can ask general questions, discuss the Ember CLI, ask design questions, or even talk about data models.

Vue.JS Forum

The Vue.js forum is great for all things Vue, of course, but it’s also quite noteworthy for having discussions in multiple languages, from Chinese to French to Japanese and more.

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Front-End Development Communities

r/Frontend

r/Frontend is a subreddit for developers to share the latest tips, thoughts, and links on everything related to front-end development, including HTML5, JavaScript frameworks, CSS, SCSS, LESS, prototyping tools, mobile design optimization, and more.

#FrontEndDevelopers

#frontendDevelopers is now a Discord community for creative developers to exchange information, ask and answer questions, share work, and find gigs.

WordPress Forums & Groups

Online WordPress communities provide hiring managers and startup founders with an outlet to network with skilled developers, as well as learn about recent WordPress developments. Here are some that we have found most useful.

Making WordPress Slack Community

The Making WordPress Slack Community is an original WordPress community that recently migrated from IRC to Slack. It is used for contributing code, design, and documentation to the WordPress community. Note, this Slack channel is not for WordPress help and support, but for WordPress development.

Official WordPress Support Forum (.org)

WordPress.org is the open-source side of things. On their official support pages, you can find a variety of resources, including sharing and troubleshooting forums, networking forums, development forums, themes, plugins, and more.

Official WordPress Support Forum (.com)

WordPress.com Support is where you can get help on the hosting supplier option for WordPress development. The support page offers everything from “getting started tutorials” to “best practices” forums.

WP Devs Stack Exchange

The WordPress Development Stack Exchange is part of a network of self-moderating question-and-answer sites for developers and administrators. Here on the WordPress forum subdomain, anyone can ask WordPress-related questions, and the best answers are voted to the top of the list.

WordPress on Stack Overflow

The Stack Overflow WordPress Tag is a highly active forum on everything related to WordPress content management systems. Here you can see the most active users and users whose answers have gained the most votes, which is helpful in identifying knowledgeable and experienced WordPress devs.

Ruby & Ruby on Rails Communities

Ruby on Rails communities offer developers of all levels more than somewhere to hang out with like-minded enthusiasts. It’s a place where they can enhance their coding skills and absorb the knowledge that marks them as Ruby on Rails masters.

Look for Ruby on Rails champions at these (and similar) locations:

Rails on Reddit

Both the /r/rails and /r/rubyonrails communities are well-subscribed, with plenty of new content every day.

Ruby on Reddit

If you just want a subreddit for Ruby, Reddit’s got what you’re looking for. With over 75,000 members, this is the best place to find your tribe for Ruby enthusiasts.

Ruby & RoR on Stack Overflow

Look no further than Stack Overflow for specialized pages dedicated to Ruby and Ruby on Rails developers looking for knowledge, information sharing, or even jobs.

Online PHP Communities

Below is a list of online forums where PHP developers share knowledge, show off projects, and ask and answer questions. Some of these dev sites award points and have a function to filter top users — this allows you to identify the most skilled developers on the site who you may want to reach out to.

PHP on Stack Overflow

Stack Overflow’s PHP area contains everything from background info, news, applications, documentation, chat rooms, moderated discussions, and more.

PHP DN

PHP DN, short for the PHP Developers Network, is a community of PHP developers offering assistance, advice, discussion, and friendship.

PHP Builder

PHP Builder, true to its name, is a forum for developers to learn how to build better PHP applications. There are numerous threads for PHP help, discussion, tools, and more.

PHP-FIG

PHP-FIG is a group for established PHP projects and their representatives to talk about commonalities and find ways to work together. However, anyone can join the group and observe or adopt the PHP standard recommendations voting members produce. Members can chat on Freenode, join the mailing list, contribute on GitHub, and join discussions on their Discord server.

PHP Subreddit

The r/PHP subreddit is a great place to get the latest PHP news, share opinions on updates, chat with the wider PHP community, and ask and answer questions.

The PHP Developer Network

This LinkedIn group is dedicated to improving the PHP Community. Check out this LinkedIn community for developers to stay on top of everything to do with PHP, MySQL, Drupal, Joomla!, Zend, Perl, LAMP, and open source projects.

Did We Miss One Of The Best Dev Communities?

Well, that’s all for now on our list of the best developer communities online, and we hope we’ve helped you find a place to help you learn, grow, and succeed!

If you have any questions or other great online communities for software engineers, let us know in the comments below. And, if you haven’t yet, join Arc as a developer now to search all remote developer jobs in one place, get access to great career advice, and network with remote devs around the world.

Arc is a radically different remote job search platform where companies apply to you. We feature developers directly to tech companies and startups and help you land a remote job in 14 days.
Sign up here.