Welcome to Learn JavaScript!

I’m thrilled to see you here.

Thanks for leaping. It is my pleasure to help you learn JavaScript.

I promise that Learn JavaScript is going to be one of your best investments this year. If you put in the effort to go through this course, you’ll understand JavaScript, use it intuitivly, and remember it for life (less the occasionally need to Google). And, you’ll be able to build things from scratch without copy-pasting code.

I’ll go so far to say that you’ll love Learn JavaScript so much by the end of the course that you’ll want to tell everyone about it. If you do feel this way, I encourage you to leave a testimonial, share your journey, and spread the word about Learn JavaScript.

But let’s not get carried away yet. Let’s take a step at a time.

Here’s how to get the best out of Learn JavaScript:

How to best use the course

Before you move into the lessons proper, I have six tips to help you speed up your learning process:

1. Learn a bit of JavaScript everyday
2. Go through the lessons at your own pace
3. Do every exercise you encounter
4. Code along, then build it one more time
5. Take sufficient breaks
6. Learn with others

Learn a bit of JavaScript everyday

Consistency is the key to learning, so set aside at 30-60mins a day to learn JavaScript.

Keep this learning period free of distractions. Shut the door, and tell your family you need time alone if necessary. Focus is paramount to learning.

Be in a fresh state if you can; it helps learning. If you can’t learn at night, try waking up earlier (but if you do this, make sure you go to bed earlier too).

Don’t try to cram too many things at once — you’ll simply forget what you learned. 30-60 mins is great. Take your time.

Go through the lessons at your own pace

There are two kinds of lessons in Learn JavaScript

• Theory lessons
• Practical lessons

Theory lessons are there to help you learn JavaScript concepts, so you know what to do when you reach the practical lessons.

Practical lessons for there for you to apply the concepts you learned, to build stuff, so your body remembers how to write JavaScript.

This is important.

• Take your time. Read through the theory slowly, word by word.
• Make sure you understand the entire lesson before moving on to the next one.
• Do not move on if you don’t understand — you will not be able to learn the next lesson well.

If you’re confused, ask us immediately. We have a community to support you. Please note that this community is only available for paid students of Learn JavaScript or Magical Dev School.

Do every exercise you encounter

Some lessons — especially the earlier ones — contain exercises.

Do them. They’ll help you solidify the knowledge you’ve just gained.

We provide answers for these exercises so you can check your answers against ours. Again, if you have any questions, just reach out to us in the community.

Code along, then build it one more time

Do these when you reach the practical lessons (which are all denoted with a 🛠️ icon).

1. Before you go through the tutorial, write down what you think you need to create the component.
2. Code along with the tutorial — when you do this, make sure you type the code manually. Do not copy and paste. (You want your body to remember how to code, not how to paste).
3. Once you’re done, code the component by yourself without looking at the answers. If you can’t do it, return to Step 2 and code along again.

Why this helps:

• Step 1 lets you see the difference between how we think. Once you see the difference, you can adopt the way I think to help you build components.
• Step 2 helps your body to remember how to code
• Step 3 helps you verify that you know how to build the component

Take sufficient breaks

Learning is a marathon. Although it’s fun, it can be tough.

Sometimes, your brain just doesn’t want to cooperate — you make silly mistakes and you blank out. Sometimes, you just don’t want to learn anymore.

When this happens, it’s time to take a break.

Let your brain reorganize the information while you rest.

Learn with others

It helps to have people study with you. Reach out to the community, introduce yourself and ask if anyone wants to study JavaScript together.

Better yet, share your experience in the chat

• Tell us what you learned today
• Tell us what you’re excited about
• Tell us what you got stuck with

You’ll motivate both yourself and others.

Have fun learning JavaScript!

That’s all the learning tips I have for you. I hope you use them well.

With that, let’s begin the journey. Flip over to the next lesson whenever you’re ready.

Oh, and have fun learning JavaScript! :)