Hi everyone! I’m totally new to coding and just began my JavaScript journey. I have zero programming experience and honestly feel pretty overwhelmed with all the resources out there. What are some effective methods to practice and actually retain what I’m learning? Should I focus on building small projects or stick to tutorials first? Also wondering if there are any specific exercises or coding challenges that helped you when you were starting out. I really want to make sure I’m using my study time wisely and not just going through the motions. Any advice from experienced developers would be amazing!
Codecademy and FreeCodeCamp were game-changers when I started. The instant feedback kept me going and saved me from banging my head against syntax errors for hours. Once I got through the basics, I started copying simple sites and components I found online. Building a calculator or to-do list really made everything click. Biggest mistake I made? Jumping around between courses constantly. Pick one good course and actually finish it. Also, try explaining your code out loud or write comments - it forces you to actually understand what each line does instead of just copying examples.
totally feel ya! small projects are super helpful, just dive in! i started with a simple quiz app and it clicked for me too. don’t stress about perfection, it’s all part of learning. keep coding and have fun with it!
The Console is your best friend when starting out. I spent weeks just messing around with variables, functions, and loops right in the browser before I even touched a file. Takes away the scary factor and you get instant feedback. When I moved to actual coding, I’d nail down one thing completely before jumping to the next - spent almost a week on functions and scope until it clicked. Reading other people’s code on GitHub was huge too, even when I couldn’t follow half of it. You start recognizing patterns without even trying.
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