What's the best way to learn touch typing?

The most important thing is to use a program that teaches you the correct finger placement from the start, otherwise you end up learning it wrong and then it's really hard to fix. There are sites like TypingMaster or Monkeytype that are free and work well, but honestly TypeRacer is more fun because while you're typing you're racing in a competition, so you don't get bored after two days. To go from two-finger typing to ten-finger typing it probably takes three or four months if you practice like twenty minutes a day, but it depends on how motivated you are - some people get there faster, others slower. Speed comes later though, at the beginning it's better to go slow and focus on accuracy, without looking down.

Try Keybr.com or Monkeytype right now, they're free and they actually work really well. The difference from what you probably found before is that these don't make you learn boring exercises - they give you real-time feedback on speed and errors, and the game is addictive enough that you end up keeping at it without getting tired.

Finger placement is fundamental, yeah, but it's not rocket science. You just need to make sure your 8 fingers are on the home row of the keyboard (ASDFGHJKL) and your thumbs stay on the space bar. After one, two weeks max of daily practice (like 15-20 minutes), it starts becoming automatic. Not perfect yet, but your brain starts absorbing the keyboard map without you looking at it.

Realistically, to go from two fingers to decent speed takes about 6-8 weeks if you practice consistently. I've seen people make insane progress in less time just because they didn't give up after a week. The trick is not to push crazy speeds at the start - focus on accuracy, speed comes on its own once your fingers know where to go without thinking about it.

Have you tried anything before, or are you starting completely from scratch?

I agree with what the others say about hand positioning - it's essential. But I'll add a detail that often gets overlooked: it's not just about the right sites, it depends a lot on how willing you are to repeat the exercises in a boring way. You can't expect to learn well by doing 10 minutes here and there. You need to find a routine, maybe 20-30 minutes a day for at least 4-5 days a week, otherwise your muscle memory won't develop.

For free sites, there are various options that work well if you use them consistently. The thing to avoid is skipping the basic exercises just because they bore you - I mean, it's tedious sitting there pressing ASDFGHJKL for five minutes, but that's exactly what you need. Once you have your finger positioning automatic (and I'm not saying this lightly), moving on to speed comes naturally. Being realistic, if you're starting from zero at 35 like you said, count on at least 2-3 months of serious practice before you notice a real change. It depends on how much effort you put in, but it's not something you learn in two weeks.

Learning from scratch at 35 is not late at all, but here's a catch that nobody mentions: if you keep typing with two fingers while you're learning the correct method, your brain gets confused and you'll regress. You really have to stop using the old technique for a few weeks, even if it's frustrating. Free sites like Keybr.com or TypingMaster work well if you're disciplined - most people who make it spend 15-20 minutes a day for a couple of months, depending on how fast you want to push yourself.

the biggest risk is rushing - people think they'll speed up by skipping the basics, and then after a couple of weeks they're still looking down at the keyboard because the muscle memory never formed 😅 better to spend 15-20 minutes a day for at least a couple of months, even if it's boring, than to cut corners. the sites other people recommend are solid, but make sure you do the exercises the way they say (finger positioning for real) not "however feels most comfortable" - that's the trap that stops most people.