40 JavaScript Projects for Beginners – Easy Ideas to Get Started Coding JS

JavaScript is an incredibly popular and versatile programming language that‘s fairly easy to learn, making it a great choice for coding beginners. As the language that powers interactive web experiences, JavaScript is used by a huge number of developers across the globe. Whether you want to build websites, web applications, mobile apps, backend services, or desktop programs, JavaScript has you covered.

According to the Stack Overflow 2021 Developer Survey, JavaScript has been the most commonly used programming language for nine years in a row. A whopping 64.96% of the 69,000+ developers surveyed reported using JavaScript.

The GitHub State of the Octoverse 2022 report also shows JavaScript as the top language on the platform, used by 31.6% of users. With over 1.8 million public and private JavaScript repositories, it has almost twice as many as the second-place language, Python.

One of the reasons for JavaScript‘s massive popularity is its extensive package ecosystem. The npm registry hosts over 1.8 million JavaScript packages. That‘s far more than other popular languages – Java has around 440,000 packages, PHP 330,000, and Ruby only 180,000. This means JS developers have an unrivaled wealth of existing code they can leverage and build upon.

As a result of its ubiquity, JavaScript skills are in high demand by employers. According to PayScale, the median salary for a full-stack JavaScript developer in the United States is a healthy $86,951 per year.

Why Build JavaScript Projects as a Beginner

One of the best ways to reinforce your understanding of JavaScript concepts and develop your coding skills is by working on real projects. Building applications, even simple ones, provides invaluable hands-on experience. It‘s a chance to practice what you‘ve learned and deepen your knowledge through trial and error.

Some key reasons to learn by building projects include:

• Practicing syntax and patterns: The more you write actual JavaScript code, the more comfortable you‘ll become with its quirks and typical use cases. Repeatedly typing out variables, functions, loops, and other structures builds muscle memory.

• Thinking like a programmer: Programming is largely problem-solving. Working on a project forces you to break down a problem, plan out a solution, and work through challenges. Over time, it trains your mind to approach coding problems methodically.

• Expanding your skills: Tutorials and courses are great for gaining basic knowledge. But to truly grow as a developer, you need to strike out on your own. With projects, you‘ll inevitably encounter scenarios not covered by tutorials. Figuring them out expands your abilities.

• Exploring creativity: Unlike tutorials, which have a defined outcome, your own projects can go in any direction you imagine. Infusing your personality and ideas into your work is immensely satisfying. It also helps you stay motivated to keep coding.

• Proving your skills: Employers want developers who can actually build things. Walking through your projects is arguably the most powerful way to demonstrate your knowledge during interviews and on your resume. Even as a beginner, a portfolio of small projects is impressive.

So if you‘ve been learning JavaScript and are looking to cement your skills, building some projects is the perfect next step. Below you‘ll find 40 ideas for beginner-friendly applications, games, and web pages to create using plain JS as well as the React framework and TypeScript language. Each project is hand-picked to reinforce core JavaScript concepts, provide rewarding coding practice, and guide you towards thinking like a developer.

Prerequisites

Before diving into JavaScript projects, it‘s important to have a handle on the language fundamentals. If you haven‘t yet, be sure to first take some beginner JavaScript tutorials or courses.

Some key concepts you should be familiar with include:

• Variables and constants
• Primitive data types (strings, numbers, booleans)
• Arrays and objects
• Conditional statements (if/else)
• Comparison operators
• Loops (for, while)
• Functions
• Working with the DOM API

If you need to brush up on the basics, here are a few excellent (and free!) resources:

• freeCodeCamp‘s JavaScript course
• javascript.info‘s The JavaScript language tutorial
• MDN‘s JavaScript First Steps

Once you‘re comfortable with the fundamentals, you‘re ready to start building. Feel free to tackle the projects in any order you like. I‘ve roughly ordered them from easiest to hardest, but you can let your interests guide you.

Vanilla JavaScript Projects

Vanilla JavaScript simply means plain JavaScript without any additional libraries or frameworks. These projects will give you practice working with the core JavaScript language and DOM API. They‘re a great foundation before moving on to "flavor enhancers" like React, Vue, or TypeScript.

1. Color Flipper

2. Counter

3. Review Carousel

4. Navbar

5. Sidebar

6. Modal

7. FAQ Page

8. Grocery List

9. Math Quiz Generator

For an added challenge, build on the simple counter project by creating a math quiz generator web app. The app should present users with random math questions and keep track of their right and wrong answers.

Key concepts covered:

• Generating random numbers and arithmetic operators
• Creating questions dynamically
• Checking user-submitted answers
• Tallying correct and incorrect answers

To give you an example of the math involved, here‘s a JavaScript snippet for generating random addition problems with whole-number answers from 0-20:

function generateAdditionQuestion() {
  const num1 = Math.floor(Math.random() * 20);
  const num2 = Math.floor(Math.random() * (20 - num1));
  const question = `What is ${num1} + ${num2}?`;
  const answer = num1 + num2; 

  return { question, answer };
}

Check out this video series from Codingflag to learn how to make a complete math quiz app: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzfuSVwkEzHuJ3-kHi8nMthY8F8aZf5oD

10. Rock Paper Scissors Game

11. Tic-Tac-Toe Game

React Projects

React is a popular open-source JavaScript framework for building user interfaces. Its component-based structure makes it quicker and easier to develop complex, interactive UIs. Use these project ideas to start getting comfortable with React fundamentals.

12. Birthday Reminder

13. Tours Page

14. Accordion Menu

15. Tabs

16. Review Slider

17. Color Generator

18. Shopping Cart

19. Movie Watchlist

A movie watchlist app lets users search for films and add them to a personal watchlist. Building this project provides good practice integrating with a third-party API, in this case to fetch movie data. You‘ll also get more experience with React hooks, components, and state management.

Key concepts covered:

• Fetching data from a movie API
• Updating state based on API responses
• Passing data between components with props
• Persisting data in local storage
• Rendering dynamic lists

To make your own movie watchlist, check out this walkthrough from Web Dev Simplified: https://youtu.be/iE_6pQ3RlZU

20. Weather App

Building a weather app is another excellent opportunity to work with an external API in React. You‘ll learn how to fetch weather data for a user‘s location, display different components based on the data, and style the app attractively.

Key concepts covered:

• Getting user location with Geolocation API
• Fetching weather data from API
• Conditional rendering based on weather data
• Displaying icons and images
• Styling React components

Follow this tutorial from Luis Ramirez to create a React weather app using OpenWeatherMap API: https://youtu.be/UjeXpct3p7M

21. Quiz App

22. Pomodoro Timer

The Pomodoro Technique is a popular time management method that involves working in 25-minute focused sprints with short breaks in between. A Pomodoro timer app helps users implement this technique by tracking their work and break intervals. This project provides excellent practice with React hooks and state as well as CSS styling.

Key concepts covered:

• Using useState and useEffect hooks
• Setting and clearing timers
• Updating state based on timer status
• Styling timer dial with CSS
• Adding audio notifications

Watch this tutorial from Coding With Chaim to build a Pomodoro timer: https://youtu.be/ZqOaRNyH1L8

TypeScript Projects

TypeScript is a statically-typed superset of JavaScript that adds optional type checking. Many developers appreciate how TypeScript can help prevent bugs and improve tooling. The following projects will get you started using TypeScript for game development and web apps.

23. Arkanoid Game

24. Snake Game

There you have it! By completing these 24 projects, you‘ll build a solid foundation in JavaScript and be well on your way to thinking like a true programmer.

Remember, the key to learning is consistent practice. Commit to coding a little bit every day, even just for 30 minutes. The more you practice, the more comfortable you‘ll become. Don‘t be afraid to make mistakes—that‘s how we learn. Embrace the challenges and savor the wins.

I encourage you to share your completed projects with others. Explaining your code is a great way to reinforce your understanding. You can also learn a lot by seeing how other developers approached the same project.

If you get stuck, don‘t forget that the developer community is famously supportive. Don‘t hesitate to ask for help on platforms like Stack Overflow, Reddit, or the freeCodeCamp forum. Chances are someone else has faced the same issue and will be happy to share their solution.

I hope you‘re feeling motivated to start building. Pick a project that excites you and dive in! Happy coding!