How to Keep Improving Your JavaScript Skills (25+ Resources to Check Monthly)

See how one developer keeps up with all the latest trends and news. From there, create your own routine and share it!

Keeping up with all the new JavaScript concepts, libraries or frameworks takes work. It took me a few years to figure out how to do it. This article aims to share the routine I use to keep improving my JavaScript and TypeScript skills.

Don’t try to copy my process exactly; rather, use it as a starting point to find your own. We all learn differently. Certain people prefer to read articles, others prefer to watch videos and some prefer to listen to podcasts. I spend time watching YouTube and browsing the newsletters I have mentioned below.

Focus on the format you enjoy the most, and you will be more likely to keep doing it. That’s a key point to keep in mind. 🧠

It’s also important to avoid FOMO and worrying about missing out on something. If an important library is released, you will discover it at some point. In one way or another, you will hear about it.

When you are organized, investing up to one or two hours per week is enough to keep up with the latest trends. 🤓

Having the right tools also make things easier. For instance, a bookmark manager saving exciting articles is a must-have (Instapaper, Pocket, Raindrop … ). I use Raindrop. The browser Arc is also a great option for quickly jumping from one place you must consult to another.

A habit tracker can also remind you to dedicate the necessary time for this task every week. I use Resilience Club, a minimalistic free app to keep track of everything you want to do regularly. It’s a great tool for building habits and tracking your progress. 📈

Now that you are more familiar with my process, let’s dive into the list of JavaScript resources I use to improve my skills.

Newsletters

Newsletters are my favorite way to keep up with the latest trends. Usually, to find trends, I type the name of the technology and append “weekly” to it. For instance, if I want to find a newsletter about TypeScript or Tailwind, I will type “TypeScript Weekly” or “Tailwind Weekly.”

Once again, it may be best to focus on a few newsletters to ensure you can handle it. I enjoy the following ones:

• JavaScript Weekly: I have been subscribed to this newsletter for a few years now. They have more than 600+ issues now. It’s a great way to discover new libraries, frameworks and tools. It’s not only about JavaScript but also TypeScript, Node.js and other related technologies. If I had to pick one newsletter to subscribe to, it would be this one. 🔥

• TypeScript Weekly: Like the name suggests, this is a newsletter about TypeScript. You will receive the best links to check out every week.

• Front End Focus: This is a fabulous newsletter to discover new tools and libraries for frontend development. I also like that it’s not only about JavaScript but also about CSS, HTML and other related technologies.

• Front End Weekly: This is another awesome newsletter to discover new tools and libraries for frontend development.

• Node Weekly: I don’t use Node.js that much, but I still find it interesting to keep an eye on what’s going on in the Node.js ecosystem.

• Tailwind Weekly: This is a newsletter about Tailwind CSS. Usually, it takes me less than five minutes to read it.

• Console.dev or DailyTekk: Not related to JavaScript, but still great newsletters to discover new apps and tools.

There are also more specialized newsletters. For instance, if you are into React, you may be interested in This Week in React and probably dozens more I need to learn about. Do your digging according to your stack, Google them, and you will find the right ones. 🕵️‍♂️

Another place worth looking for if you enjoy newsletters is Substack. It’s a platform for creators that allows you to create your newsletter. You will find many authors talking about a countless number of topics.

YouTube

YouTube is my favorite network for learning new things, and a YouTube Premium account is one of my best investments. There are so many great channels to follow. I have listed a few below that are worth checking out.

It’s also good to avoid the homepage with all the suggestions and instead head over to the subscriptions page. Once on it, you can see the latest videos published by the channels you enjoy the most and add the interesting videos to your watch-later playlist in one click.

• Fireship: I love his 120-second videos that try to give you a glimpse of new technology as fast as possible. One of the channels I watch the most on YouTube, for sure. He also has a great sense of humor. 🤣

• Academind: That’s how I learn Vue.js. He is also a popular author on Udemy with many courses about JavaScript, TypeScript, React, Vue.js, Nuxt.js and more.

• Traversy Media: Lots of courses, mostly about JavaScript, PHP and Python. He covers a lot of frameworks and libraries.

• LevelUpTuts: Another popular channel on YouTube you probably know about.

• Code with Guillaume: A newer player in town. 🤠 He made a complete course about Nuxt 3 and Supabase. It’s a channel for frontend developers mostly.

Libraries

These two websites keep track of the most popular libraries and frameworks for today, this week and this month. You can filter the results by category, popularity and more. Choose between one or the other. No need to dedicate more than a few minutes every week. 🕰️

• Best of JS: The one I usually use.

• GitHub Trending: JavaScript sorted by week: GitHub table with the most popular repositories. Best of JS but with a better UI IMO.

Podcasts

I should listen more to podcasts. There are so many of them that I usually get overwhelmed and do not listen to them. I should focus on the three below, especially since I could listen to them while coding. 🤔

• Syntax: A podcast about web development by Web Bos and Scott Tolinski.

• JS Party: A weekly podcast about JavaScript where I have listened to many library and framework creators.

• Views on Vue: A podcast about Vue.js. Sometimes talks about Nuxt.js as well. I have listened to many episodes, and I have learned a lot. I also like the fact that they have a lot of guests from the Vue.js community. 🤗

Platforms & Blogs

When a great article comes out from these platforms, I am usually notified with my newsletters. But I also occasionally like to check them out to see what’s new. 🤓

• Medium JavaScript: Medium articles about JavaScript.

• Medium TypeScript: Medium articles about TypeScript.

• Medium Node: Medium articles about Node.js.

• DEV Community JavaScript: DEV articles about JavaScript.

• DEV Community TypeScript: DEV articles about TypeScript.

• DEV Community Node: DEV articles about Node.js.

• DEV Community Vue: DEV articles about Vue.js.

• Reddit JavaScript: Subreddit about JavaScript.

• Reddit TypeScript: Subreddit about TypeScript.

• Reddit Node: Subreddit about Node.js.

• Reddit Vue: Subreddit about Vue.js.

• Telerik blogs: Telerik blogs about web development. You are reading one of them right now. 😁

Twitter

Even though I don’t use Twitter that much, I had to mention it. But if you have the right lists of people to follow, you will get notified about the latest trends and news. Follow the libraries and frameworks you use, their authors and maintainers, and you should be good. 🤞

Discords

Almost all major frameworks and libraries have a Discord server. You can join them and ask questions, get help and stay up to date with the latest news. 📢

Google it and you will find them. I am not going to list them all here. 😅

I don’t visit them that often because there is a lot of noise, but I do check them out from time to time especially the announcements channels. 🤓

What’s Your Routine?

I am also interested in reading your comments about your routine to stay current on your end. My process is still a work in progress, and I always look for new ways to improve it.

You can reach me on Twitter @RifkiNada. And in case you are curious about my work or other articles, you can look at them here www.nadarifki.com. 😉

Do you have any other resources to share? Let me know in the comments below. 👇

Thank you for reading! 🙏