A focused six-month plan can take you from basics to a hire-ready junior web developer with projects, feedback loops, and consistent practice.
You can learn the craft with a tight plan, daily practice, and a proof-based portfolio. This guide shows what to study each month, what to build, and how to present your work so hiring managers can say yes.
Six-Month Web Developer Plan: From Zero To Hireable
The timeline below maps core skills to output. You’ll learn the foundations, add a back-end, and ship small apps. Each block sets a clear deliverable to prove real skills.
| Month | Core Skills | Output |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | HTML, CSS, semantic layout, responsive habits | Personal homepage with mobile-first layout |
| 2 | JavaScript basics, DOM, fetch, accessibility | Interactive UI and API mini-app |
| 3 | Git, GitHub, Node.js, package scripts | Two repos with clean commits and README |
| 4 | React or Vue, routing, state patterns | Single-page app with forms and auth mock |
| 5 | REST, a lightweight server, database CRUD | Full-stack app with live demo |
| 6 | Testing, deployment, polish, interview prep | Portfolio site and three case studies |
Learning Sources That Save Time
Anchor your study in primary docs. Keep MDN Web Docs open for HTML, CSS, and JS behavior. Use docs first, videos second. You’ll move faster and avoid stale advice.
Tools And Setup
Pick one editor and learn its shortcuts. VS Code is common and free. Install a terminal, Node.js LTS, and Git. Add an ad-blocker and a responsive viewer in your browser. Create a GitHub account and turn on two-factor login.
Study Routine That Works
Aim for five study days each week. Break time into a 60-20-20 split: learn, build, then review. End each session by writing a short note on what you shipped. That log powers your case studies later.
What You’ll Build Over Six Months
Plan three flagship projects and a set of small demos. Pick ideas with a user story, a clear data model, and room for growth. Good picks: a recipe finder with tags, a habit tracker with charts, or a reading list with search and sync.
Project 1: Solid Front-End
Ship a responsive UI with clean forms, keyboard access, and fine-tuned focus states. Use semantic tags and alt text. Add a settings page and save user choices in localStorage.
Project 2: Full-Stack Starter
Build a small API with CRUD and input checks. Pick Express, Deno, or a similar stack. Connect a simple database. Write seed data and a script to reset the DB so reviewers can test quickly.
Project 3: Polished App With Auth
Add login flows and protected routes. Stub auth with a provider or a mock server during skill-building. Focus on error states, empty states, and loading skeletons. These small touches show care for users.
Feedback And Code Quality
Practice pull requests, small commits, and tight messages. Run a linter and a formatter. Add basic tests for a few core flows. Invite a peer or a mentor to leave comments on one merge each week.
Resume And LinkedIn Tips
Lead with shipped work, not course lists. Write three bullets per project: user goal, tech stack, and result. Pin your repos, add links to live demos, and include a direct contact method.
Interview Prep In Weeks 21–24
Drill plain JavaScript. Rebuild map, filter, and reduce from scratch. Practice a 90-second story for each project: the problem, your choices, and what you’d change next. Run mock interviews with a timer and a shared editor.
Common Pitfalls And Fixes
Starting too many courses. Pick one path and finish. Skipping basics. Layout, forms, and a11y win trust fast. Hiding code. Keep repos public with clear READMEs and demo links.
Budget And Time Plan
Use free docs and low-cost hosting at first. Spend on a domain and a good course only if it saves weeks. Block two hours on weeknights and a longer weekend block for project pushes.
Portfolio That Lands Interviews
Your site should load fast, tell a tight story, and make it easy to reach you. Keep a home page, a projects page, and a contact page. Add three case studies with real screenshots and a short write-up.
| Checklist Item | What Good Looks Like | Proof |
|---|---|---|
| Hero Snapshot | One-line value and a small photo | Above-the-fold on home page |
| Project Cards | Live link, repo link, tech tags | Three cards minimum |
| Case Studies | Problem, choices, outcomes | Three short pages |
| Contact | Visible email or form | Footer and header link |
| Speed | Quick first paint | Lighthouse score and lazy loading |
| Access | Contrast, labels, focus rings | Wave scan passes core issues |
Month-By-Month Breakdown
Month 1: HTML And CSS That Read Well
Learn semantic tags, forms, and tables. Practice flexbox and grid. Rebuild a simple brand page from scratch. Add media queries and clamp-based font sizes. Ship a clean layout that works on phones first.
Month 2: JavaScript Foundations
Cover values, scope, and functions. Work with arrays and objects. Write fetch calls and render results. Wire up errors and empty states. End the month with a small app that hits a public API.
Month 3: Git And Node Basics
Create repos, branches, and pull requests. Learn merges and rebases. Install Node LTS. Write build and start scripts. Publish a demo to a free host and link it in the README.
Month 4: Modern Front-End
Pick a library and stick with it. Learn routing, forms, and state. Add a chart and a modal. Handle slow networks with skeleton screens. Profile bundle size and strip extras.
Month 5: Back-End And Data
Design routes and a simple schema. Add input checks and rate limits. Save data and handle auth tokens. Write a docs page so testers can try the API fast.
Month 6: Testing, Polish, And Jobs
Write unit tests for helpers and a few UI paths. Add e2e tests for a sign-in flow. Tidy copy, fix contrast, and compress images. Send tailored applications each weekday.
What Employers Scan First
Recruiters skim for proof of shipping. They look for active repos, clear READMEs, and small wins tied to users. Check the Web developer profile for job scope and skills that recur across postings.
Daily Practice Template
Start with a warm-up: rebuild a small UI from a screenshot. Move to a feature in your main project. End with code review: rename things, delete dead code, and write one test.
How To Measure Progress
Track weekly commits, shipped features, and bug counts. Keep a scoreboard in your README. If the numbers stall, slice scope and ship a smaller win.
Job Search Plan In Month Six
Send four short applications daily, five days a week. Attach one case study that matches the role. Add a short Loom demo for your flagship app.
Next Steps After Month Six
Keep shipping small features weekly. Join a local meetup or an online study group and trade code reviews. Target one deeper topic next: TypeScript, testing at scale, or data modeling.
Choosing A Stack That Fits Your Goals
Pick a route that matches target roles. A front-end path pairs HTML, CSS, and a library. A generalist path adds Node and a simple database. A back-end tilt swaps the front-end library for deeper server work.
Front-End-Heavy Path
Stay close to browser APIs, ARIA, and layout craft. Build components by hand before adding a UI kit. Keep bundle size small and avoid plugin sprawl.
Full-Stack Starter Path
Pair a front-end library with a tiny server. Add REST endpoints, cookie handling, and a session flow. Keep the data model small and write a reset script so reviewers can try the app fresh.
Back-End-Lean Path
Spend more time on routing, caching, and data shapes. Learn indexes and query plans. Expose a clean API and write a Postman collection so testers can drive requests fast.
Deployment And Hosting
Ship early on free tiers. Static sites can go live on a CDN with one command. For a small server, use a hobby plan with logging and a region near your users. Set env vars in the host dashboard and never commit secrets.
Accessibility Basics That Stand Out
Use real labels, clear focus order, and skip links. Check contrast and color alone is never the only cue. Test with a keyboard and a screen reader for each release.
Time Savers That Add Up
Keep a snippets file for common patterns. Write a script to start a new project with lint, format, and test set up. Batch tasks: open issues, then move through them in one sitting.
A Sample Week On The Plan
Mon: watch one short lesson and code along. Tue: build a small feature. Wed: refactor and add tests. Thu: review a past project and file issues. Fri: ship a demo and post a write-up.
README Template That Sells Your Work
Add a one-line value, a screenshot, a live link, and quick start steps. List features, tech, and a short roadmap. Close with a license and a contact line.
How To Find Feedback
Share a demo link in a dev forum with one clear request, such as layout gaps or naming. Ask a working dev for a ten-minute repo skim. Trade reviews to keep it fair.
When To Pay For A Course
Pay when a track saves weeks. Signs of value: a clear syllabus, updates this year, and capstone projects that look like real work. Skip courses that hide repos or show only slides.