JavaScript libraries are dominating stacks.

Let’s say there are 3 stack categories which are frontend, backend, and third-party services. The fact is that JavaScript has libraries in all of those stack categories (*P.S that’s why I ❤️ JavaScript*), it is because JavaScript is a programming language that can be used as both backend and frontend. That's why there are so many options for JavaScript libraries out there. Here are some examples of those libraries:

JavaScript libraries for frontend:

- [ReactJS](https://reactjs.org/) for reactive UI frontend
- [VueJS](https://vuejs.org/) for reactive UI frontend
- [Svelte](https://svelte.dev/) for reactive UI frontend
- [Axios](https://axios-http.com/) for HTTP request

JavaScript libraries for backend:

- [Puppeteer](https://pptr.dev/) for controlling high-level API of Chrome or Chromium
- [Prisma](https://www.prisma.io/client) for ORM (Object-Relational Mapping) database that type safe
- [Node-Redis](https://redis.js.org/) for Redis client

JavaScript libraries for third-party services:

- [Firebase](https://firebase.google.com/) for BaaS (backend as a service)
- [Stripe](https://stripe.com/docs/js) for payment gateway service
- [AWS SDK](https://aws.amazon.com/sdk-for-javascript/) for BaaS

and the number of JavaScript libraries keeps growing every year. Here the total taken in 2022 from [NPM package manager](https://npmjs.com/) is over 2 millions:

![npm packages count](/images/npm-packages-count.jpg)

Why we need to choose the right JavaScript library?

The main goals of choosing the right JavaScript libraries is to make your development easier and faster. The number of JavaScript libraries are keep growing, even every year there are new popular JavaScript libraries are born. [The Stack Overflow survey](https://insights.stackoverflow.com/survey/) says since 2016 until 2022 JavaScript always on top of 5 most favorite programing language, in that case the more popular programing language, more new developers are coming, then more JavaScript developers want to make their libraries, then more variants of libraries are available.

The more variants of JavaScript libraries out there, the more burden we have choosing one that really helps us in development.

> ⚡ At the end of this article, you will know how to choose JavaScript libraries effectively.

The problem with more variants of JavaScript libraries.

JavaScript libraries are becoming so noisy, so many options making it harder for us to make decision choosing the right one. Every library has advantages and disadvantages if we don’t take a look at it deeply, we don’t know if it really can help speed up our development process or not. We can’t stop the growing numbers of JavaScript libraries, what we can do is just how we get better on choosing it.

The growing JavaScript libraries are unstoppable. Choosing it becoming extra effort. What we need is just improve our choosing it effectively.

Here the example I want to find the date picker for react in yarn package manager it showing 1000+:

![yarn finding date picker for react](/images/yarn-finding-date-picker-for-react.jpg)

Then my questions is:

1. Is the first result always the right one?
2. Does it really help my development?
3. Is it easy to use?

In this article, I'll share my experience on what to do to answer those questions.

## The mistake I've made is that grinding every JavaScript library is not helping me get better at choosing the right JavaScript libraries.

Back then, I spent most of my time experimenting with any popular JavaScript libraries.

I tried every new trending JavaScript library because I believe that when I know all of the most trending JavaScript libraries, I might get better at choosing the right one. Indeed, this is a working method, but it makes me exhausted. Slowly, I hate doing this because it takes a lot of effort. Imagine every year there are a lot of new trending JavaScript libraries and trying every one of them becomes ineffective.

Try every trending JavaScript library—it's like betting. The result can sometimes be a waste of my time and sometimes be a good experience.

> ⚠️ It is acceptable to experiment with the most trending JavaScript libraries for your own learning purposes.

Why is it not enough to try the JavaScript library only once?

Most of the new trending JavaScript libraries are very active in development. That is why trying the JavaScript library only once is not enough for us to form an opinion about the library. When the major changes come, the improvements sometimes make the libraries become more easily to use, less buggy, or the performance gets better.

That's why it forces me to keep up-to-date with the library and I don’t like doing it anymore.

I try to figure out if I can find another way more easily and I enjoy doing it.

Then I found the ultimate solution that is, until now, I keep this tips on my mind. The things is to choose the right JavaScript libraries is not always trying and keep update all of them. 

Here the tips:

## Tips #1: Focus on what you expert at it

It is better to choose the library you already know well rather than the library you are new to.

Choosing the new library always lead to adding some extra effort to understanding all of the usage. If you are already familiar with a library that has the same functionality, it is better to choose that one. It doesn't matter if the library is old, as long as you know how to use it well, it will still save you time. Never bet on trying new libraries if you want to focus on solving the real problem.

Focusing on solving the real problem will increase your development speed.

The JavaScript library should make your development process easier.

The main purpose of the JavaScript library is to make your development easier, not to force you to learn all functionality in the library or to solve problems in the library. Whatever JavaScript library you know is too old or decreasing in popularity. If you enjoy, know well all functionality set, and feel easy using it then keep choosing that library.

Stay with the JavaScript library you know well to make your development easier.

The JavaScript libraries that you have been using for a long time are the best ones for you to choose.

The old library is less popular, and sometimes it is more mature library. You should choose it because there are less issues with it. As long as the library is not deprecated yet and the maintainer is still active, it should be ok to choose it. Instead of using the new popular JavaScript library, it usually has so many issues and the development is very aggressive. Sometimes they make major changes in the short term.

The old JavaScript library you are familiar with is still the best option rather than new library.

## Tips #2: Check the documentation first

Looking at the documentation first can help you make a quicker decision about which one to choose.

The JavaScript library usually has many functions and options, but we developers don’t need to remember all of those. When we use the library, most of our time is spent checking the documentation to see how to use it and what the options are. The documentation has information to answer whether or not what we need is in the library. So it is good to check the documentation before choosing the JavaScript library. Here are some points to help you choose a library by checking the documentation:

1. Understanding the format of the documentation.
    
    The documentation is usually written in a format that can be easily understood and used to explain the functions and options. Every library's documentation is written in a different format, so a quick way to check the documentation is to understand the format first. Once you're familiar with the documentation format, you will be able to easily understand all of the library features.
    
    A library with clear and easy-to-understand documentation is a good sign that you have chosen the right library.
    
2. The documentation reference
    
    The documentation reference is a resource that explains the details of the functions and options of the library, including what syntax, parameters, and data type to use. Understanding the reference helps us quickly adapt to using the library. This point can be optional when you are using extensions like [Intelligent code completion](https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/editor/intellisense) in your IDE it will automatically show you the reference while you code.
    
    This is an example of code reference showing in an IDE. I am using VS code and typescript with the built-in [Intelligent code completion](https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/languages/typescript). When I call the getFirestore function from the Firestore library, it shows the description, parameters, and event examples.
    
    ![intelligent code completion vs code](/images/intelligent-code-completion-vs-code.jpg)
    
3. The code examples
    
    This is my favorite thing in the documentation because it can speed up understanding the usage of the library. In my experience, checking the example is the fastest way to find out what I'm looking for. Unfortunately, not all of the documentation in the library has code examples.
    
    The code example in the documentation helps us to understand the library more quickly and easily.
    
    Here's an example of a documentation that has code examples:
    
    ![code example firestore documentation](/images/code-example-firestore-documentation.jpg)
    
    *Firestore provides a code example of how to add data.*
    

The good documentation provides information that makes it easy to use the library. The written format is easy to follow, the code reference is easy to find, and there are examples of code usage.

## Tips #3: Don't bet on low-maintained open source libraries

You should never using low maintained library in your project.

Choosing the low-maintenance open source library, you may have to deal with many unresolved issues and uncovered bugs. I've encountered this before when I chose a low-maintenance library - I got a bug. I tried finding a solution on the internet but no one was discussing it. At the end, I have two options: fix the bug myself or change the library. If I choose a good maintenance library, those efforts should never have happened.

The lower the maintenance on a library, the greater the likelihood you will be stuck on problems.

There are three criteria I use to determine whether a library has a good maintenance track record:

1. Check the last commit in the master or main branch. Make sure it is not more than 3 months ago.
2. Check the open issues in the repository, make sure there is someone who will respond to it within 3-7 days after the issue is opened.
3. At least have dozens of forks on GitHub.

The good open source library is maintained by active contributors.

## Tips #4: Avoid changing existing libraries

There's no need to change the library unless you're stuck on a problem with it, or you'll be overwhelmed with unnecessary work.

When you explore JavaScript libraries and find one that is more interesting than the one you are using now, I recommend that you don't immediately decide to change libraries. I’ve been trough this changing the existing library can add extra effort that may not be very effective on what you imagine. I have 3 checklists I usually use before deciding to change libraries to avoid extra effort. Here are the 3 checklists:

1. There are no security issues in the existing library.
2. The existing library is not deprecated yet.
3. There are no recurring problems in the existing library.

As long as your existing library meets the checklist, you should not change it. Save your time and focus on solving the most valuable problems.

## Tips #5: Maybe you don’t need the library at all

You don’t need the JavaScript library all the times.

You don't always need to add a new library if it is available in the JavaScript core API. You don't always need to use the Axios library if you can use fetch. You don't always need to use jQuery if you can use the JavaScript DOM API. You don't always need to use Underscore if you know all of the array methods in the JavaScript core API. Reducing the number of JavaScript libraries you use will improve the performance of your app.

If you master the JavaScript core API, you will have less dependence on libraries and your app will run faster.

## Key takeaways:

The main purpose of JavaScript libraries is to make your development process easier and faster. Therefore, it is important to choose the right library before you begin using it.

- Choose the library you are most familiar with.
- Check the documentation first to make sure it is easy for you to understand.
- Avoid using libraries that aren't well maintained.
- Do not change the existing library.
- No need for a library if it exists in the JavaScript core API.

At the end, users don't care about the libraries you use, but too much use of libraries can make your app run slowly and give users a bad experience.

JavaScript libraries are dominating stacks.
Let’s say there are 3 stack categories which are frontend, backend, and third-party services. The fact is that JavaScript has libraries in all of those stack categories (P.S that’s why I ❤️ JavaScript), it is because JavaScript is a programming language that can be used as both backend and frontend. That's why there are so many options for JavaScript libraries out there. Here are some examples of those libraries:
JavaScript libraries for frontend:
<ul>
<li><a rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://reactjs.org/">ReactJS</a> for reactive UI frontend</li>
<li><a rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://vuejs.org/">VueJS</a> for reactive UI frontend</li>
<li><a rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://svelte.dev/">Svelte</a> for reactive UI frontend</li>
<li><a rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://axios-http.com/">Axios</a> for HTTP request</li>
</ul>
JavaScript libraries for backend:
<ul>
<li><a rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://pptr.dev/">Puppeteer</a> for controlling high-level API of Chrome or Chromium</li>
<li><a rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://www.prisma.io/client">Prisma</a> for ORM (Object-Relational Mapping) database that type safe</li>
<li><a rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://redis.js.org/">Node-Redis</a> for Redis client</li>
</ul>
JavaScript libraries for third-party services:
<ul>
<li><a rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://firebase.google.com/">Firebase</a> for BaaS (backend as a service)</li>
<li><a rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://stripe.com/docs/js">Stripe</a> for payment gateway service</li>
<li><a rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://aws.amazon.com/sdk-for-javascript/">AWS SDK</a> for BaaS</li>
</ul>
and the number of JavaScript libraries keeps growing every year. Here the total taken in 2022 from <a rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://npmjs.com/">NPM package manager</a> is over 2 millions:
<img src="/images/npm-packages-count.jpg" alt="npm packages count">
Why we need to choose the right JavaScript library?
The main goals of choosing the right JavaScript libraries is to make your development easier and faster. The number of JavaScript libraries are keep growing, even every year there are new popular JavaScript libraries are born. <a rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://insights.stackoverflow.com/survey/">The Stack Overflow survey</a> says since 2016 until 2022 JavaScript always on top of 5 most favorite programing language, in that case the more popular programing language, more new developers are coming, then more JavaScript developers want to make their libraries, then more variants of libraries are available.
The more variants of JavaScript libraries out there, the more burden we have choosing one that really helps us in development.
<blockquote>
⚡ At the end of this article, you will know how to choose JavaScript libraries effectively.
</blockquote>
The problem with more variants of JavaScript libraries.
JavaScript libraries are becoming so noisy, so many options making it harder for us to make decision choosing the right one. Every library has advantages and disadvantages if we don’t take a look at it deeply, we don’t know if it really can help speed up our development process or not. We can’t stop the growing numbers of JavaScript libraries, what we can do is just how we get better on choosing it.
The growing JavaScript libraries are unstoppable. Choosing it becoming extra effort. What we need is just improve our choosing it effectively.
Here the example I want to find the date picker for react in yarn package manager it showing 1000+:
<img src="/images/yarn-finding-date-picker-for-react.jpg" alt="yarn finding date picker for react">
Then my questions is:
<ol>
<li>Is the first result always the right one?</li>
<li>Does it really help my development?</li>
<li>Is it easy to use?</li>
</ol>
In this article, I'll share my experience on what to do to answer those questions.
<h2>The mistake I've made is that grinding every JavaScript library is not helping me get better at choosing the right JavaScript libraries.</h2>
Back then, I spent most of my time experimenting with any popular JavaScript libraries.
I tried every new trending JavaScript library because I believe that when I know all of the most trending JavaScript libraries, I might get better at choosing the right one. Indeed, this is a working method, but it makes me exhausted. Slowly, I hate doing this because it takes a lot of effort. Imagine every year there are a lot of new trending JavaScript libraries and trying every one of them becomes ineffective.
Try every trending JavaScript library—it's like betting. The result can sometimes be a waste of my time and sometimes be a good experience.
<blockquote>
⚠️ It is acceptable to experiment with the most trending JavaScript libraries for your own learning purposes.
</blockquote>
Why is it not enough to try the JavaScript library only once?
Most of the new trending JavaScript libraries are very active in development. That is why trying the JavaScript library only once is not enough for us to form an opinion about the library. When the major changes come, the improvements sometimes make the libraries become more easily to use, less buggy, or the performance gets better.
That's why it forces me to keep up-to-date with the library and I don’t like doing it anymore.
I try to figure out if I can find another way more easily and I enjoy doing it.
Then I found the ultimate solution that is, until now, I keep this tips on my mind. The things is to choose the right JavaScript libraries is not always trying and keep update all of them.
Here the tips:
<h2>Tips #1: Focus on what you expert at it</h2>
It is better to choose the library you already know well rather than the library you are new to.
Choosing the new library always lead to adding some extra effort to understanding all of the usage. If you are already familiar with a library that has the same functionality, it is better to choose that one. It doesn't matter if the library is old, as long as you know how to use it well, it will still save you time. Never bet on trying new libraries if you want to focus on solving the real problem.
Focusing on solving the real problem will increase your development speed.
The JavaScript library should make your development process easier.
The main purpose of the JavaScript library is to make your development easier, not to force you to learn all functionality in the library or to solve problems in the library. Whatever JavaScript library you know is too old or decreasing in popularity. If you enjoy, know well all functionality set, and feel easy using it then keep choosing that library.
Stay with the JavaScript library you know well to make your development easier.
The JavaScript libraries that you have been using for a long time are the best ones for you to choose.
The old library is less popular, and sometimes it is more mature library. You should choose it because there are less issues with it. As long as the library is not deprecated yet and the maintainer is still active, it should be ok to choose it. Instead of using the new popular JavaScript library, it usually has so many issues and the development is very aggressive. Sometimes they make major changes in the short term.
The old JavaScript library you are familiar with is still the best option rather than new library.
<h2>Tips #2: Check the documentation first</h2>
Looking at the documentation first can help you make a quicker decision about which one to choose.
The JavaScript library usually has many functions and options, but we developers don’t need to remember all of those. When we use the library, most of our time is spent checking the documentation to see how to use it and what the options are. The documentation has information to answer whether or not what we need is in the library. So it is good to check the documentation before choosing the JavaScript library. Here are some points to help you choose a library by checking the documentation:
<ol>
<li>
Understanding the format of the documentation.
The documentation is usually written in a format that can be easily understood and used to explain the functions and options. Every library's documentation is written in a different format, so a quick way to check the documentation is to understand the format first. Once you're familiar with the documentation format, you will be able to easily understand all of the library features.
A library with clear and easy-to-understand documentation is a good sign that you have chosen the right library.
</li>
<li>
The documentation reference
The documentation reference is a resource that explains the details of the functions and options of the library, including what syntax, parameters, and data type to use. Understanding the reference helps us quickly adapt to using the library. This point can be optional when you are using extensions like <a rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/editor/intellisense">Intelligent code completion</a> in your IDE it will automatically show you the reference while you code.
This is an example of code reference showing in an IDE. I am using VS code and typescript with the built-in <a rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/languages/typescript">Intelligent code completion</a>. When I call the getFirestore function from the Firestore library, it shows the description, parameters, and event examples.
<img src="/images/intelligent-code-completion-vs-code.jpg" alt="intelligent code completion vs code">
</li>
<li>
The code examples
This is my favorite thing in the documentation because it can speed up understanding the usage of the library. In my experience, checking the example is the fastest way to find out what I'm looking for. Unfortunately, not all of the documentation in the library has code examples.
The code example in the documentation helps us to understand the library more quickly and easily.
Here's an example of a documentation that has code examples:
<img src="/images/code-example-firestore-documentation.jpg" alt="code example firestore documentation">
Firestore provides a code example of how to add data.
</li>
</ol>
The good documentation provides information that makes it easy to use the library. The written format is easy to follow, the code reference is easy to find, and there are examples of code usage.
<h2>Tips #3: Don't bet on low-maintained open source libraries</h2>
You should never using low maintained library in your project.
Choosing the low-maintenance open source library, you may have to deal with many unresolved issues and uncovered bugs. I've encountered this before when I chose a low-maintenance library - I got a bug. I tried finding a solution on the internet but no one was discussing it. At the end, I have two options: fix the bug myself or change the library. If I choose a good maintenance library, those efforts should never have happened.
The lower the maintenance on a library, the greater the likelihood you will be stuck on problems.
There are three criteria I use to determine whether a library has a good maintenance track record:
<ol>
<li>Check the last commit in the master or main branch. Make sure it is not more than 3 months ago.</li>
<li>Check the open issues in the repository, make sure there is someone who will respond to it within 3-7 days after the issue is opened.</li>
<li>At least have dozens of forks on GitHub.</li>
</ol>
The good open source library is maintained by active contributors.
<h2>Tips #4: Avoid changing existing libraries</h2>
There's no need to change the library unless you're stuck on a problem with it, or you'll be overwhelmed with unnecessary work.
When you explore JavaScript libraries and find one that is more interesting than the one you are using now, I recommend that you don't immediately decide to change libraries. I’ve been trough this changing the existing library can add extra effort that may not be very effective on what you imagine. I have 3 checklists I usually use before deciding to change libraries to avoid extra effort. Here are the 3 checklists:
<ol>
<li>There are no security issues in the existing library.</li>
<li>The existing library is not deprecated yet.</li>
<li>There are no recurring problems in the existing library.</li>
</ol>
As long as your existing library meets the checklist, you should not change it. Save your time and focus on solving the most valuable problems.
<h2>Tips #5: Maybe you don’t need the library at all</h2>
You don’t need the JavaScript library all the times.
You don't always need to add a new library if it is available in the JavaScript core API. You don't always need to use the Axios library if you can use fetch. You don't always need to use jQuery if you can use the JavaScript DOM API. You don't always need to use Underscore if you know all of the array methods in the JavaScript core API. Reducing the number of JavaScript libraries you use will improve the performance of your app.
If you master the JavaScript core API, you will have less dependence on libraries and your app will run faster.
<h2>Key takeaways:</h2>
The main purpose of JavaScript libraries is to make your development process easier and faster. Therefore, it is important to choose the right library before you begin using it.
<ul>
<li>Choose the library you are most familiar with.</li>
<li>Check the documentation first to make sure it is easy for you to understand.</li>
<li>Avoid using libraries that aren't well maintained.</li>
<li>Do not change the existing library.</li>
<li>No need for a library if it exists in the JavaScript core API.</li>
</ul>
At the end, users don't care about the libraries you use, but too much use of libraries can make your app run slowly and give users a bad experience.

There are so many JavaScript libraries out there, and it can be hard to choose the right one. Here are some tips to help you make a better decision.

I Improve My Development Process By Choosing The Right JavaScript Library With These 5 Tips

Are you a JavaScript developer who wants to level up your JavaScript skills? Then you are in the right place.

## The missing piece to leveling up your JavaScript skills

There are many resources to learn JavaScript skills, from tutorials, books, courses, and technical documentations. But reading and watching those resources are not enough to level up your JavaScript skills. Those resources are important for the beginning, but to advance it, you need practice. Practice needs a space, a room, or a place. The place that you are free to do practice every day, every week, every month, or whatever time it is. The place that you are free to do any experiments. That place is your own project.

Tutorials, books, courses, and technical documentations are important, but there is another important thing that is practice.

Before we jump in, let's talk about JavaScript first.

## Why level up your JavaScript skills?

In the [Stack Overflow Annual Developer Survey](https://insights.stackoverflow.com/survey) from 2016 to 2022, JavaScript was still in the top 5 most favorite programming languages and the top 5 most loved by developers. JavaScript is the only popular programming language that is run in the browsers. It is not only run in the browsers as the clients’ side but also as the backend with Node, Deno, and Bun runtime. JavaScript remains one of the top programming languages, and by learning it, we can become full-stack web developers (backend and frontend).

The demand and popularity of JavaScript make it the best option, and by focusing on mastering JavaScript, you become a full-stack web developer (backend and frontend).

## I build a project and discovered many experiences that pushed me to level up my JavaScript skills.

As a JavaScript developer back then, I read and watched so many hours of tutorials, courses, books, and technical documentations about JavaScript. But I feel the knowledge I got from them is not growing. I feel stuck. The knowledge that I got from them is not going anywhere. Not because of all those resources that make me stuck at growing my JavaScript skills. It's because of my lack of practice. At my full-time job at a startup company, there is not much opportunity to level up my JavaScript skills because most of the things I work on are repeatable problems, and the company is using an old version of the framework (I am still ok with it as long as it’s not deprecated). That's why I decided to go explore new experiences to level up my JavaScript skills through building my own projects.

Lack of practice makes me stuck on leveling up my JavaScript skills. Building my own projects pushes me to level up my JavaScript skills because of the new opportunities to gain experience.

## The reasons are always pushing me to level up my JavaScript skills through building projects

In this topic, I am going to explain my reasons why building projects can level up my JavaScript skills. I am hoping you can feel ready to start building your projects and leveling up your JavaScript skills right now, even if you have not finished reading this topic.

Let's begin.

## Reason #1: Make a space for practice

Building a new project will give you a space to practice.

Practices can be tedious at times, but according to James Clear's book Atomic Habits, you can eliminate boredom by doing something small to make it more enjoyable, easier, and more likely to make you love it and push you to do it consistently. No matter how minor the changes you made to your project were, they were a first step toward sharpening your skills. If you're stuck on what changes do you need to make? Here are my tips. If you already built a project you got from the tutorials or you built it on your own, then go ahead and practice by adding some small features to it, like a button that can change the background color based on day or night, adding some sorting data, adding a filter, and many more.

Keep adding some changes for practice to build a habit and slowly level up your JavaScript skills.

Warning: Don't practice too much or you will hate it.

Don’t do it too much. Practicing too much will make you burn out, and slowly you will hate doing it. If you burn out, stop practicing and try walking around for a while to refresh your mind. When you feel refreshed and want to start again, try reading some motivational blogs first like this blog. Sometimes it will make you engaged again to continue building a project. Practicing with small changes consistently makes you less burned out and levels up your JavaScript skills exponentially.

Practicing too much is not good for you. Instead, try doing a tiny bit of it and enjoy the process. You will love to level up your JavaScript skills.

## Reason #2: The places to discover new experiences

Whatever JavaScript projects you build, an app, browser extensions, libraries, API, template UI, app scripts, and more, you will find new problems that need to be solved. This will lead you to new experiences for leveling up your JavaScript skills. If you have not found any new problems, then it’s time to build more advanced projects.

You will have new problems when you build a project. Use that as your opportunity to level up your problem-solving skills.

Those problems you solved are important for the future of your projects. For example, when you face the same problem again, it will become easier. It gets easier or you get more advanced solving methods when you face it continuously.

Stuck on a problem? Stop forcing yourself to solve it. Take a breath and read some meme.

If you are stuck on a problem you face, don’t force yourself to solve it. I have experienced this before. Forcing ourselves to solve problems that are difficult for us is a bad thing. You are becoming less mindful and, in some cases, your solution becomes a new problem. Try refreshing your mind for a while by walking around, taking a wash, stretching, or quick exercise. When you feel refreshed, take a look at your problems on stack overflow. Read it in detail to get a deep understanding of the solution. Don’t just copy and paste. Remember, this is your personal project, no need to rush. Your main goal is to learn not to finish it.

There is no need to force yourself to solve a problem quickly. Sometimes we need to refresh our minds. The goal is to learn not to finish it quickly.

## Reason #3: The sandbox tools to try any tech stack

The most common issues that a JavaScript developer faces in an organization are a lack of new technology to experiment with. As a JavaScript developer, it makes it difficult to level up your skills. With your own projects, you can do whatever tech stacks you want to try. If you want to learn about new JavaScript stacks, try them while building a project. Instead of just reading the readme or technical documentations, you can feel and learn what problems those stacks want to solve and what advantages and disadvantages they have with trying.

By experimenting with any interesting tech stacks, you can overcome your limitation in terms of leveling up your JavaScript skills.

Sharpen your skills in choosing the right tech stack.

Choosing the right tech stack is a hard decision. You must have experience with a variety of stacks to understand the benefits and drawbacks of each. Within projects, you can practice to gain this experience. You can feel it when you start building new projects or add on existing projects. The way you seek the right tech stacks is by progressing to level up your JavaScript skills. Should I use Deno or Node for the backend? Should I use React or Vue for the frontend? Whatever tech stack you choose, if you have never used it before, try it at least once in a quick start. For your projects, you don’t need to worry if it's the right stacks or not. Just try the stack you want to add. While you walk along with it, at the end you will realize whether the stack you used fit or not. Those practices lead you to get a wider knowledge of the tech stack. The next projects you build, you will get better and better at choosing the right tech stack.

Exploring any tech stack is the way you to level up your skills and get wider knowledge of the tech stack.

## Reason #4: Becoming your creativity booster

As I mentioned before, the common problems in an organization are lack of choice and trying. I think this limits our creative room. You have limited your interesting ideas and limited your experimental things. That's why you need your own projects. The projects you can do it anything in it. The projects you can add any tutorial in it. The projects you can add any weird experiment in it. Anything you can do without limitation. Don't worry too much if your projects become Frankenstein, Franky, AWS, or something like that. The goal is to level up your JavaScript skills through creativity. Here we eliminate the obstacles to boosting your creativity. Free-do anything ideas in a project. It is part of practicing your creativity. Creativity will help you in the future. You can solve a problem in an effective way because of your creativity skills.

Don't limit yourself to being creative. Doing whatever you want is a part of practicing your creativity skills.

## Reason #5: Becoming the history of your learning journey

The common problems of projects that are not updated or not maintained Even though there are so many experiences we can get from them. If you join a new organization, these skills are usually needed. Commonly, you face this problem with an old and unmaintained project. Whatever your projects are, there are already solved problems out there, or the tech stacks are too old. Maintaining it will teach you new skills such as refactoring, updating dependencies, changing deprecated dependencies, and more. There are many problems that need to be solved, and worthwhile experience will come from maintaining projects.

In the end your projects become your proof of your journey leveling up your JavaScript skills.

However you feel your old projects are bad, it is still proof that your skills are improving. Don't delete it. Give it a small maintenance to make it equal to your skills now.

## Conclusion

Projects are important for a JavaScript developer because they allow you to practice problem solving, experiment with different tech stacks, be creative, and showcase your work. Those practices are needed to level up your JavaScript skills. Practicing with small things consistently will lead you to become mindful and enjoy them. You don't know it until you try it. Start building your own projects now and level up your JavaScript skills.

Are you a JavaScript developer who wants to level up your JavaScript skills? Then you are in the right place.
<h2>The missing piece to leveling up your JavaScript skills</h2>
There are many resources to learn JavaScript skills, from tutorials, books, courses, and technical documentations. But reading and watching those resources are not enough to level up your JavaScript skills. Those resources are important for the beginning, but to advance it, you need practice. Practice needs a space, a room, or a place. The place that you are free to do practice every day, every week, every month, or whatever time it is. The place that you are free to do any experiments. That place is your own project.
Tutorials, books, courses, and technical documentations are important, but there is another important thing that is practice.
Before we jump in, let's talk about JavaScript first.
<h2>Why level up your JavaScript skills?</h2>
In the <a rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://insights.stackoverflow.com/survey">Stack Overflow Annual Developer Survey</a> from 2016 to 2022, JavaScript was still in the top 5 most favorite programming languages and the top 5 most loved by developers. JavaScript is the only popular programming language that is run in the browsers. It is not only run in the browsers as the clients’ side but also as the backend with Node, Deno, and Bun runtime. JavaScript remains one of the top programming languages, and by learning it, we can become full-stack web developers (backend and frontend).
The demand and popularity of JavaScript make it the best option, and by focusing on mastering JavaScript, you become a full-stack web developer (backend and frontend).
<h2>I build a project and discovered many experiences that pushed me to level up my JavaScript skills.</h2>
As a JavaScript developer back then, I read and watched so many hours of tutorials, courses, books, and technical documentations about JavaScript. But I feel the knowledge I got from them is not growing. I feel stuck. The knowledge that I got from them is not going anywhere. Not because of all those resources that make me stuck at growing my JavaScript skills. It's because of my lack of practice. At my full-time job at a startup company, there is not much opportunity to level up my JavaScript skills because most of the things I work on are repeatable problems, and the company is using an old version of the framework (I am still ok with it as long as it’s not deprecated). That's why I decided to go explore new experiences to level up my JavaScript skills through building my own projects.
Lack of practice makes me stuck on leveling up my JavaScript skills. Building my own projects pushes me to level up my JavaScript skills because of the new opportunities to gain experience.
<h2>The reasons are always pushing me to level up my JavaScript skills through building projects</h2>
In this topic, I am going to explain my reasons why building projects can level up my JavaScript skills. I am hoping you can feel ready to start building your projects and leveling up your JavaScript skills right now, even if you have not finished reading this topic.
Let's begin.
<h2>Reason #1: Make a space for practice</h2>
Building a new project will give you a space to practice.
Practices can be tedious at times, but according to James Clear's book Atomic Habits, you can eliminate boredom by doing something small to make it more enjoyable, easier, and more likely to make you love it and push you to do it consistently. No matter how minor the changes you made to your project were, they were a first step toward sharpening your skills. If you're stuck on what changes do you need to make? Here are my tips. If you already built a project you got from the tutorials or you built it on your own, then go ahead and practice by adding some small features to it, like a button that can change the background color based on day or night, adding some sorting data, adding a filter, and many more.
Keep adding some changes for practice to build a habit and slowly level up your JavaScript skills.
Warning: Don't practice too much or you will hate it.
Don’t do it too much. Practicing too much will make you burn out, and slowly you will hate doing it. If you burn out, stop practicing and try walking around for a while to refresh your mind. When you feel refreshed and want to start again, try reading some motivational blogs first like this blog. Sometimes it will make you engaged again to continue building a project. Practicing with small changes consistently makes you less burned out and levels up your JavaScript skills exponentially.
Practicing too much is not good for you. Instead, try doing a tiny bit of it and enjoy the process. You will love to level up your JavaScript skills.
<h2>Reason #2: The places to discover new experiences</h2>
Whatever JavaScript projects you build, an app, browser extensions, libraries, API, template UI, app scripts, and more, you will find new problems that need to be solved. This will lead you to new experiences for leveling up your JavaScript skills. If you have not found any new problems, then it’s time to build more advanced projects.
You will have new problems when you build a project. Use that as your opportunity to level up your problem-solving skills.
Those problems you solved are important for the future of your projects. For example, when you face the same problem again, it will become easier. It gets easier or you get more advanced solving methods when you face it continuously.
Stuck on a problem? Stop forcing yourself to solve it. Take a breath and read some meme.
If you are stuck on a problem you face, don’t force yourself to solve it. I have experienced this before. Forcing ourselves to solve problems that are difficult for us is a bad thing. You are becoming less mindful and, in some cases, your solution becomes a new problem. Try refreshing your mind for a while by walking around, taking a wash, stretching, or quick exercise. When you feel refreshed, take a look at your problems on stack overflow. Read it in detail to get a deep understanding of the solution. Don’t just copy and paste. Remember, this is your personal project, no need to rush. Your main goal is to learn not to finish it.
There is no need to force yourself to solve a problem quickly. Sometimes we need to refresh our minds. The goal is to learn not to finish it quickly.
<h2>Reason #3: The sandbox tools to try any tech stack</h2>
The most common issues that a JavaScript developer faces in an organization are a lack of new technology to experiment with. As a JavaScript developer, it makes it difficult to level up your skills. With your own projects, you can do whatever tech stacks you want to try. If you want to learn about new JavaScript stacks, try them while building a project. Instead of just reading the readme or technical documentations, you can feel and learn what problems those stacks want to solve and what advantages and disadvantages they have with trying.
By experimenting with any interesting tech stacks, you can overcome your limitation in terms of leveling up your JavaScript skills.
Sharpen your skills in choosing the right tech stack.
Choosing the right tech stack is a hard decision. You must have experience with a variety of stacks to understand the benefits and drawbacks of each. Within projects, you can practice to gain this experience. You can feel it when you start building new projects or add on existing projects. The way you seek the right tech stacks is by progressing to level up your JavaScript skills. Should I use Deno or Node for the backend? Should I use React or Vue for the frontend? Whatever tech stack you choose, if you have never used it before, try it at least once in a quick start. For your projects, you don’t need to worry if it's the right stacks or not. Just try the stack you want to add. While you walk along with it, at the end you will realize whether the stack you used fit or not. Those practices lead you to get a wider knowledge of the tech stack. The next projects you build, you will get better and better at choosing the right tech stack.
Exploring any tech stack is the way you to level up your skills and get wider knowledge of the tech stack.
<h2>Reason #4: Becoming your creativity booster</h2>
As I mentioned before, the common problems in an organization are lack of choice and trying. I think this limits our creative room. You have limited your interesting ideas and limited your experimental things. That's why you need your own projects. The projects you can do it anything in it. The projects you can add any tutorial in it. The projects you can add any weird experiment in it. Anything you can do without limitation. Don't worry too much if your projects become Frankenstein, Franky, AWS, or something like that. The goal is to level up your JavaScript skills through creativity. Here we eliminate the obstacles to boosting your creativity. Free-do anything ideas in a project. It is part of practicing your creativity. Creativity will help you in the future. You can solve a problem in an effective way because of your creativity skills.
Don't limit yourself to being creative. Doing whatever you want is a part of practicing your creativity skills.
<h2>Reason #5: Becoming the history of your learning journey</h2>
The common problems of projects that are not updated or not maintained Even though there are so many experiences we can get from them. If you join a new organization, these skills are usually needed. Commonly, you face this problem with an old and unmaintained project. Whatever your projects are, there are already solved problems out there, or the tech stacks are too old. Maintaining it will teach you new skills such as refactoring, updating dependencies, changing deprecated dependencies, and more. There are many problems that need to be solved, and worthwhile experience will come from maintaining projects.
In the end your projects become your proof of your journey leveling up your JavaScript skills.
However you feel your old projects are bad, it is still proof that your skills are improving. Don't delete it. Give it a small maintenance to make it equal to your skills now.
<h2>Conclusion</h2>
Projects are important for a JavaScript developer because they allow you to practice problem solving, experiment with different tech stacks, be creative, and showcase your work. Those practices are needed to level up your JavaScript skills. Practicing with small things consistently will lead you to become mindful and enjoy them. You don't know it until you try it. Start building your own projects now and level up your JavaScript skills.

Leveling up your JavaScript skills is not enough with just tutorials you need to build projects and here's why.

My mission is to empowering you as a JavaScript developer to level up your JavaScript skills so you can build your projects easier and faster

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