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What is JavaScript?

JavaScript is a general-purpose programming language most commonly used for creating interactive dynamic websites.

When the web was first invented, web pages were static, meaning that users couldn’t interact with the website except for navigation, the internet was more like a book.

What is the main use of JavaScript?

As technology progressed, scripting languages were made to make the internet more interactive —a user could send data to a website, the website could process and store the data, and the website can send data to a user if requested. This opened up a wealth of opportunities for web developers to make web applications, and JavaScript was at the frontier of this innovation.

With JavaScript, you can not only send data back and forth between the user and the server, you could also make dynamic websites that adapt themselves to the user’s screen, implement interactive maps and graphs, create animations, and a lot more. Indeed, according to StackOverflow’s 2023 Developer Survey, JavaScript has been the #1 most used language for the past 11 years.

Hence, most people and employers looking for developers to build and maintain their website expect people to know JavaScript. According to Glassdoor, the estimated average pay for a JavaScript Developer is around $153K per year in the US.

Why You Should Trust Us

Class Central, a Tripadvisor for online education, has helped 60 million learners find their next course. We’ve been combing through online education for more than a decade to aggregate a catalog of 200,000 online courses and 200,000 reviews written by our users. And we’re online learners ourselves: combined, the Class Central team has completed over 400 online courses, including online degrees.

Courses Overview

• The course enrollments in this guide combined adds up 3.9M enrollments
• All of the courses in this guide are free or free-to-audit except for one
• Around 24.4K people are following JavaScript Courses on Class Central.

Best Course for Beginners on General-Purpose Programming With Free Certificate (fCC)

JavaScript Algorithms and Data Structures by freeCodeCamp goes beyond JavaScript basics; this course supplements newbies with tools and concepts needed for programming in general, like data structures, algorithms (hence the course name), and object-oriented and functional programming paradigms.

Through the site’s interactive, hands-on coding tutorials and milestone projects, you’ll gain plenty of knowledge and experience solving problems and coming up with solutions on your own.

In addition, you’ll have access to The freeCodeCamp Forum where you can ask for help and guidance.

By the end of the course, you’ll receive a free certificate as a testament of your JavaScript abilities.

There are no prerequisites for this course.

What you’ll learn:

• Fundamentals of programming with JavaScript: variables, arrays, functions, debugging
• Features introduced in ES6 and regular expressions
• Basic data structures and algorithms for efficient data storage and processing
• Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) and Functional Programming paradigms
• Advanced programming projects: palindrome checker, roman numeral converter, caesars cipher encrypter, telephone number validator, and cash register program.

Note that:

• This course focuses more on JavaScript as a general-purpose programming language. If you’re more interested in using JavaScripts to build websites, check out freeCodeCamp’s Front End Development Libraries course or read the next few courses below
• freeCodeCamp released a new and improved version of this certification: JavaScript Algorithms and Data Structures (Beta); this new version has been praised to be much better by some learners on Reddit.

Best Full Stack Course to Get Started for Beginners (The Odin Project)

The Odin Project’s Full Stack JavaScript aims to teach you what you need for creating beautiful responsive websites from scratch to the point where you can get your first job as a developer.

This free open-source course teaches you intermediate and advanced HTML and CSS to turn you into a CSS expert, JavaScript to create stunning single page applications with React and create a backend using Express, as well as MongoDB, a non-relational database to store your data in. Also, the course provides a section on where to find jobs and how to ace interviews so that you can eventually get a job as a web developer.

Not to mention, The Odin Project has an amazing, helpful developer community.

To take this course, you’re expected to have completed The Odin Project’s Foundations course or alternatively have basic knowledge of Git, HTML/CSS, and JavaScript.

What you’ll learn:

• Advanced HTML and CSS: forms, form validation, Emmet, grids, and flexboxes
• Web accessibility: keyboard navigation, image captions, color-blind friendly schemes
• Responsive design: adapting websites to different screen sizes
• Front-end JavaScript: code organization, DOM manipulation with React, asynchronous JavaScript
• Back-end development: building with Express and integrating MongoDB
• Job search preparation: job applications and interview techniques.

Best Comprehensive Full Stack Course for Intermediates with Free Certificate (Helsinki)

Full Stack Open: Deep Dive Into Modern Web Development teaches you about modern web development and some mobile application development.

In this free certificate course, you’ll focus on building single page applications with ReactJS that use REST APIs built with Node.js. Throughout the course, you’ll learn how to use many other famous libraries and frameworks like Redux, MongoDB, and GraphQL, as well as a superset of JavaScript called TypeScript.

One of the reasons why this course is so highly recommended is due to its active support groups on Discord and Telegram.

To take this course, you’re expected to have good programming skills, basic knowledge of web programming and databases, and to know the basics of working with the Git version-control system.

What you’ll learn:

• Fundamentals of web apps and advances in web application development
• Building user interfaces with React and rendering data
• Handling user data with forms and processing it in a remote backend server
• Implementing REST APIs with Node.js and Express (or GraphQL)
• Data validation with ESLint and storage in MongoDB
• Deploying applications and implementing user authentication and authorization
• Writing unit and integration tests
• Managing React application state with Redux
• Using React Router for application views based on URLs
• Advanced topics: web hooks, TypeScript, mobile app development with React Native, CI/CD with GitHub Actions, containerization, and relational databases.

Note that the content of this course is exactly the same as in the full stack course held at the University of Helsinki, hence expect a level of rigor in this course. In fact, this course can also be taken as a distance learning program from the Open University.

The University of Helsinki is one of the latest pioneers of MOOCs, publishing many other MOOCs including Elements of AI and Java Programming.

Concise and Interactive Project-Based Course (Scrimba)

In this free course by Scrimba, you’ll learn JavaScript by coding in their IDE learning environment (in browser). You’ll be introduced to the fundamentals by building three basic but interesting programs: a passenger counter app, a blackjack game, and a chrome extension. By the end of this course, you’ll have the skills needed to design a nice-looking and functional website or program.

In addition, Scrimba has an active community Discord server.

To take this course, you’ll need a basic understanding of HTML and CSS. Scrimba offers a course on that here.

What you’ll learn:

• Building a passenger counter app:
  • frontend web development
  • designing UI, placing buttons & adding color
  • understanding the Document Object Model (DOM)
• Developing a blackjack game:
  • implementing game logic
  • starting a new game & setting game rules
  • tracking wins and losses
• Creating a chrome extension:
  • building a tool to help recruiters keep track of leads.

Excellent Article-Based Course With Detailed Explanations (javascript.info)

JavaScript.info is a free, open-source course that thoroughly covers JavaScript from basics to advanced levels through simple yet detailed explanations. Basic knowledge of HTML and CSS is recommended.

Suitable for both beginner and intermediate learners, this course is divided into two parts:

• JavaScript Programming Language:
  • Syntax and writing quality code with comments, debugging, and testing
  • Writing object-oriented code in JavaScript
  • Asynchronous programming for running multiple lines of code simultaneously
• Working with the Browser:
  • Understanding the Document Object Model (DOM) for web page structure and organization
  • Implementing event-driven architecture for dynamic user interactions
  • Additional topics: network requests, regular expressions.

By the end, you’ll be capable of creating dynamic, responsive web applications.

Thanks to the course’s open-source license, nearly 800 people have contributed to the course’s material on GitHub, meaning the quality of the course increases each time someone contributes a piece of their knowledge!

Best Course to Build a Website from the Ground Up (UC Davis)

JavaScript Basics by the University of California, Davis, well, introduces you to the basics of JavaScript. You’ll begin this free-to-audit course by writing your first line of code and end by developing a simple web application.

You’ll need some background in HTML and CSS to take this course. Other than that, no programming experience is required.

What you’ll learn:

• Introduction to JavaScript and its history
• Writing simple JavaScript statements in the browser’s terminal
• Choosing a suitable code editor for programming
• Controlling program flow with loops and selections
• Using functions to repeat code
• Accessing and manipulating DOM elements with JavaScript methods
• Capturing user events and triggering DOM changes
• Building a simple slideshow on a web page
• Developing a web application to help users plan vacations.

Also Great More Rigorous Course to Build a Website (Michigan)

From the University of Michigan, Interactivity with JavaScript is for anyone who wants to create an interactive, responsive web page.

This free-to-audit course begins by teaching you the basics of the JavaScript language and ends with you having the programming skills and knowledge to build your own responsive website.

A basic understanding of HTML and CSS is required to take this course.

What you’ll learn:

• Introduction to web programming and the Document Object Model (DOM)
• Syntax and semantics of the JavaScript language
• Handling user interactions and events with JavaScript
• Using functions, loops, and arrays to control program flow
• Creating and validating forms, and running code on submission to manage user input.

Good for Beginners to Programming With Interactive Exercises (Codecademy)

Codecademy’s Learn JavaScript will teach you the fundamentals of programming and the object-oriented paradigm with JavaScript.

By the end of this free limited-access course, you’ll have a solid grasp of JavaScript programming.

There are no prerequisites for this course.

What you’ll learn:

• Basic programming concepts: variables and statements
• Building initial projects: converting Kelvin to Celsius/Fahrenheit and human years to dog years
• Functions, arrays, loops, and iterators for better program structure
• Object-oriented programming: organizing code with data units and properties (e.g., clickable state for buttons).

Comprehensive and Rigorous Project-Based Course With Free Certificate (Harvard)

If you have taken CS50x and are interested in web programming, this free course with a free certificate option is for you.

Although this course is more about learning web programming than JavaScript, JavaScript makes up a substantial part of this course and due to the high level of quality usually seen in Harvard’s CS50x courses, I’ve decided to include this course in the guide.

In CS50’s Web Programming with Python and JavaScript, you’ll dive deeper into the design and implementation of web apps with Python, JavaScript, and SQL using frameworks like Django, React, and Bootstrap. You’ll leverage cloud services like GitHub and Heroku to learn how to write and use API and create interactive UIs. By the end of this course, you’ll emerge with knowledge and experience in principles, languages, and tools to design and deploy applications on the Internet.

The course also has an active Discord community if you need to ask any questions.

The prerequisite for this course is CS50x or prior experience in any programming language. If you want to learn more about CS50 courses, check out our Harvard CS50 Guide: How to Pick the Right Course for You (with Free Certificate).

What you’ll learn:

• HTML and CSS for structuring and styling websites
• Version control and collaboration using Git
• Building front-ends for Google Search, Image Search, and Advanced Search
• Python programming and the Django framework for dynamic applications
• SQL for data storage and retrieval with Django-specific methods
• Creating an eBay-like e-commerce auction site
• JavaScript for event-driven programming and creating user interfaces
• Designing front-ends for an email client and a Twitter-like social network
• Testing websites using CI/CD, scalability, and security
• Capstone project: creating your own web application with Python and JavaScript.

Good Course Covering the Advanced Concepts Any Expert JavaScript Programmer Should Know (Udemy)

If you already have some experience with JavaScript but want to further improve and deepen your programming knowledge, JavaScript: Understanding the Weird Parts is a good choice for you.

In this paid course, you’ll learn how to be a good JavaScript programmer. This entails that you learn how JavaScript works under the hood and how to write good code that tends to bug less. You’ll also cover more advanced concepts like objects and object literals, function expressions, immediately invoked function expressions, and more. By the end of the course, you’ll be able to build your own JavaScript framework or library as well!

To take this course, you’ll need to have some basic experience with JavaScript (variables, loops, and functions).

What you’ll learn:

• How the JavaScript engine executes code: execution contexts and lexical environments
• JavaScript types and operators, including the triple equals === comparator
• Object-oriented programming with JavaScript through prototypal inheritance
• Advanced concepts: objects, function expressions, immediately invoked function expressions, closures, and the this keyword
• Examination and lessons from the jQuery framework
• Creating your own JavaScript framework
• Additional topics: TypeScript, ECMAScript 6, and ES6.

Best Courses Guides Methodology

I built this guide following the now tried-and-tested methodology used in previous Best Courses Guides (you can find them all here). It involves a three-step process:

1. Research: I started by leveraging Class Central’s database with 200K+ online courses and 200K reviews. Then, I made a preliminary selection of 6,400+ JavaScript courses by rating, reviews, and bookmarks.
2. Evaluate: I read through reviews on Class Central, Reddit, and course providers to understand what other learners thought about each course and combined it with my own experience as a learner.
3. Select: Well-made courses were picked if they presented valuable and engaging content. They also have to fit in a set of criteria: comprehensive curriculum, affordability, release date, ratings and enrollments.

Fabio revised the latest version of this article.