Web-Dev-For-Beginners
A free 12-week, 24-lesson beginner course teaching HTML, CSS and JavaScript through hands-on projects.
- Stars
- 97.1k
- Forks
- 16.1k
- Licence
- MIT
- Language
- JavaScript
- Last update
- 5 days ago
- Type
- Learning resource
What it is
This is a free curriculum from Microsoft Cloud Advocates that teaches the basics of web development. It has 24 lessons spread over about 12 weeks, covering JavaScript, CSS and HTML through small projects such as a terrarium, browser extensions and a space game. Each lesson includes a pre-lecture quiz, reading, activities and a post-lecture quiz.
- Work through the 24 lessons to learn HTML, CSS and JavaScript step by step
- Build the included projects such as a terrarium, browser extension and space game
- Complete the GitHub Copilot Agent challenges added to most chapters
- Follow the AI Assistant project in the 9-chat-project folder
- Explore the separate Generative AI for JavaScript curriculum linked in the README
Great for
- Complete beginners who want a structured, self-paced path into web development
- Students and learners who prefer project-based lessons with quizzes
- Teachers looking for a ready-made course outline
- Learners who want to practice with GitHub Copilot Agent mode challenges
Not ideal for
- Experienced developers looking for advanced topics, since the README describes this as a beginner curriculum
- People who want a software product to install and use rather than a course to follow
- Learners who need a single fixed-length course with no updates, since the README says content changes over time
How to get it
- 1
Clone and build from source
You'll need: Git
Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/microsoft/Web-Dev-For-Beginners.git - 2
Run it
- Clone the repository or fork it on GitHub
- Open the folder in your editor, such as Visual Studio Code
- Start with the first lesson and complete its pre-lecture quiz
- Read the lecture material and complete the activities
- Finish with the post-lecture quiz and move to the next lesson
- 3
Get the most out of it
- Use the sparse checkout commands in the README to download without translations
- Join the Azure AI Foundry Discord to meet experts and other learners
- Use the teacher suggestions in for-teachers.md if you run a class
- Check the Student Hub page for beginner resources and student packs
- Try the GitHub Copilot Agent challenges to practice with AI-assisted coding
Downloads
Strengths
- Free and open source under the MIT license
- Project-based lessons with quizzes and assignments
- Available in dozens of translations
Trade-offs
- The README does not state a clear end date or certificate beyond a Student Hub voucher mention
- Repository is large with 50+ translations, so a sparse checkout is suggested for faster downloads
- Requires you to follow lessons on your own or with peers; no instructor is described
How it compares
| Project | Stars | Type | Level | Updated | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Web-Dev-For-Beginners (this) | 97.1k | Learning resource | beginner | 5 days ago | Complete beginners who want a structured, self-paced path into web development |
| 30-seconds-of-interviews | 12.1k | Learning resource | beginner | 3.9 years ago | Developers preparing for JavaScript or front-end interviews |
| front-end-interview-handbook | 44k | Learning resource | beginner | 1 months ago | Engineers preparing for front end job interviews |
| fe-interview | 26.3k | Learning resource | beginner | 1.0 years ago | Front-end developers preparing for job interviews |
| Front-End-Performance-Checklist | 17.4k | Learning resource | beginner | 24 days ago | Front-end developers who want a structured list of speed practices to review |
| app-ideas | 98.4k | Curated list | beginner | 1.1 years ago | Beginners looking for practice projects to build after learning HTML, CSS, and JavaScript |
Stats synced from GitHub. The assessment above was drafted with AI from the project's README on 2026-10-29 and may miss recent changes — check the README before relying on a command. MIT licence: free to use, modify and distribute, including commercially, as long as you keep the copyright notice.