See how the web moved from linked documents to interactive apps, mobile-first design, cloud hosting, and today’s API-driven platforms. The chapter connects major shifts to the tools and habits web developers use now.

Create meaningful page structure with headings, paragraphs, links, images, lists, tables, and landmarks. You will build pages that browsers, search engines, and assistive technology can read clearly.

Connect multiple pages into a small website with links, shared assets, image folders, and clean paths. This turns isolated files into a real site people can navigate.

Style text, colors, spacing, borders, and backgrounds with CSS rules and selectors. You will see how the cascade decides which styles win.

Place content with the box model, Flexbox, and CSS Grid. You will build common page sections such as headers, cards, sidebars, galleries, and footers.

Make pages work across phones, tablets, laptops, and large screens. The chapter covers media queries, fluid sizing, responsive images, and mobile-friendly touch targets.

Use browser DevTools to inspect HTML, debug CSS, watch network requests, test screen sizes, and find errors. This becomes your everyday troubleshooting kit.

Build pages that keyboard users, screen readers, color-blind users, and people with motion sensitivity can use. You will practice semantic HTML, focus order, labels, contrast, alt text, and accessible error messages.

Write JavaScript with values, variables, conditions, loops, and simple calculations. You will use code to make decisions and respond to user actions.

Organize JavaScript with functions, arrays, objects, modules, and error handling. These tools let you write code that can grow without becoming a tangle.

Use the DOM to read and change page content, styles, and attributes after a page loads. You will handle clicks, typing, form changes, and other browser events.

Build forms that collect names, emails, choices, messages, files, and other user input. The chapter covers labels, validation, helpful errors, and safe client-side handling.

Request data from another URL with fetch, promises, async and await, JSON, and loading states. You will update a page without a full reload.

Use Git to save snapshots, compare changes, create branches, and recover from mistakes. You will also push code to a remote host for backup and collaboration.

Use Node.js, npm, package files, and scripts to run common web development tools. This chapter explains dependencies, versions, and why projects need a repeatable setup.

Use formatters, linters, bundlers, environment files, and build commands to prepare code for browsers. You will see how tools turn source files into a site ready to ship.

Break interfaces into reusable pieces with props, events, slots, and shared styles. This chapter builds the thinking behind components before tying it to any one framework.

Create single-page apps with a component framework such as React, Vue, Svelte, or Angular. You will handle rendering, routing, forms, and component lifecycles in a browser app.

Add TypeScript to catch mistakes before code runs. The chapter covers types for variables, functions, objects, API responses, components, and common migration patterns.

Manage changing data in larger front-end apps with local state, shared state, URL state, and server state. You will choose when a simple variable is enough and when a state library helps.

Render pages on the server, generate static pages ahead of time, and hydrate interactive parts in the browser. This helps with speed, search visibility, and reliable first loads.

Read and write HTTP requests and responses, including methods, status codes, headers, redirects, cookies, caching, and content types. This chapter makes browser-server communication feel concrete.

Build a server that accepts requests, runs code, and sends responses. You will create routes, controllers, middleware, templates, and JSON responses.

Design REST APIs with resources, URLs, methods, status codes, pagination, filtering, and versioning. You will build endpoints that front-end apps and other services can use safely.

Use GraphQL when clients need flexible data queries from one endpoint. The chapter covers schemas, queries, mutations, resolvers, errors, and when REST is the better choice.

Store structured data with tables, columns, keys, relationships, indexes, and SQL queries. You will model users, posts, orders, and other common web app data.

Connect application code to a database with queries, migrations, transactions, connection pools, and object-relational mapping tools. You will practice changing data safely as an app grows.

Handle accounts with password hashing, sessions, cookies, OAuth, multi-factor login, and passkeys. You will learn how to keep users signed in without exposing their identity or credentials.

Protect web apps from common attacks such as cross-site scripting, SQL injection, cross-site request forgery, broken access control, insecure uploads, and secret leaks. The chapter uses the attacker’s path to show where defenses belong.

Handle consent, cookies, analytics, email, location data, payments, retention, deletion requests, and regional privacy rules. You will see how legal and product decisions affect everyday technical work.

Add production features such as file uploads, email, payments, scheduled tasks, and background jobs. This chapter shows how web apps coordinate work that should not happen inside a single page load.

Build live features with WebSockets, server-sent events, and push-style updates. You will create chat, notifications, dashboards, and collaboration patterns while managing reconnects and scale.

Write unit, integration, API, accessibility, and end-to-end tests. You will use tests to catch regressions before users do and to make refactoring safer.

Improve loading, interaction, and visual stability with measurement tools, code splitting, image optimization, critical CSS, and Core Web Vitals. You will connect performance choices to real user experience.

Use browser caches, HTTP caching headers, reverse proxies, and content delivery networks. This chapter shows how to reduce server load and bring assets closer to users.

Build installable and offline-capable web apps with service workers, manifests, cache strategies, and background sync. You will know where progressive web apps help and where native apps still win.

Run high-performance code in the browser with WebAssembly. The chapter covers when to use it, how it works with JavaScript, and where it appears in games, media tools, design software, and data-heavy apps.

Automate checks, tests, builds, previews, and deployments with a CI/CD pipeline. You will turn code changes into repeatable releases instead of one-off manual steps.

Package apps with containers so they run the same way on a laptop, test server, and production host. The chapter covers images, Dockerfiles, environment variables, volumes, and container networking.

Deploy front ends, APIs, databases, secrets, storage, domains, TLS certificates, and backups on cloud platforms. You will compare common hosting models and choose a setup that fits the app.

Use serverless functions and edge runtimes for fast, event-driven work close to users. The chapter covers cold starts, limits, pricing, regional data, and good use cases.

Track logs, metrics, traces, uptime, errors, and user-impacting incidents. You will set alerts, read production signals, and respond when something breaks.

Reduce risk from packages, build tools, secrets, licenses, typosquatting, dependency confusion, and compromised releases. This chapter teaches safe update habits and checks for modern JavaScript projects.

Use AI coding assistants responsibly for scaffolding, explanation, refactoring, tests, and debugging. You will verify generated code, protect private data, and avoid shipping confident mistakes.

Add AI-powered features such as chat, search, summarization, classification, and streaming responses to a web app. The chapter covers API calls, prompt injection risks, cost controls, fallbacks, and user experience.

Take a real feature from request to release: clarify the problem, design the data, build the UI and API, test it, review it, deploy it, monitor it, and handle follow-up fixes. This chapter ties together the full professional workflow.

Improve an existing app without stopping the business. You will read unfamiliar code, pay down technical debt, migrate dependencies, change schemas safely, and preserve behavior with tests.

Plan, build, deploy, and operate a complete full-stack web app with users, data, authentication, tests, monitoring, and documentation. The final project becomes a proof-of-skill artifact for a portfolio.

Map the field’s roles, from front-end and back-end to full-stack, accessibility, DevOps, security, performance, and product engineering. You will plan portfolio pieces, contribution paths, interview practice, optional certifications, and ways to stay current without chasing every trend.