System Design for Beginners: Build Scalable Backend Systems

Learn system design basics with APIs, databases, caching, proxies, load balancers, and real interview examples.

What you'll learn

• Design scalable backend systems using real-world system design principles.
• Understand how backend systems are architected and what makes them scalable.
• Learn how production apps are structured, from compute to storage to networking layers.
• Apply design requirements like scalability, reliability, and maintainability to real systems.
• Master networking essentials like DNS, TCP/IP, and how data flows through systems.
• Understand horizontal vs vertical scaling and how to eliminate single points of failure.
• Design and optimize RESTful APIs, choosing the right protocols and security layers.
• Use caching strategies, CDNs, and signed URLs to reduce latency and scale apps.
• Compare SQL vs NoSQL databases and understand when to use each one.
• Learn how transactions work and apply ACID principles to ensure data integrity.
• Use load balancers and proxies to distribute traffic and remove single points of failure.
• Understand how MapReduce and object storage are used in big data systems.
• Learn how CI/CD pipelines work in real-world deployments and why they matter in system reliability.
• Common system design interview questions and how to handle them.

Requirements

• No prior system design experience needed — this course starts from the basics
• Helpful but not required: basic understanding of how frontend and backend interact

Description

System design is one of the most important skills for any backend or full-stack developer — but most tutorials are either too advanced or too abstract. This beginner-friendly course is designed to help you build a strong foundation in system design by focusing on real-world concepts used by top tech companies.

You’ll start with the basics: how modern web apps are structured, what makes a system scalable, and how production architectures are actually built. Then we’ll dive into the key components of backend systems — covering networking essentials, APIs, caching, CDNs, proxies, databases, and load balancing.

You’ll learn how SQL and NoSQL databases work, what ACID properties mean, how to scale reads and writes, and when to use object storage like BLOB. I will also explain CI/CD pipelines, MapReduce, and how big data is processed at scale in distributed systems.

By the end, you’ll not only understand how to design backend systems — you'll also be ready to tackle common system design interview questions like designing YouTube, Twitter, or a file storage service.

Whether you're a junior developer, bootcamp grad, or mid-level engineer, this course will give you the practical, job-ready knowledge you need to grow your backend skills and build better systems.

Who this course is for:

• Junior and mid-level developers who want to level up their backend skills
• Anyone preparing for technical interviews or aiming to design scalable systems