Tackling the 'what do I build next?' gap for beginner frontend devs — thoughts from building a learning tool

One challenge I consistently see as a web dev tutor is that beginners often hit a wall after learning the basics—HTML, CSS, JS, maybe some React. They get stuck in this limbo where they don’t know what to build next, what to study, or how to validate whether they’re on the right track. I ran into the same thing early on in my own journey. Most learning paths eventually jump into data structures and algorithms, which can be overwhelming when you're still figuring out how to write solid, clean frontend code. To help my students (and honestly, to scratch my own itch), I spent the last few months building a tool aimed at addressing this “gap phase.” The core features I focused on: Practical coding challenges directly tied to frontend topics Lightweight code evaluation for immediate feedback Frontend-specific quizzes to reinforce concepts Real-time practice with a built-in editor Integrated video content for guided learning The hardest part was balancing just enough complexity without overwhelming beginners. Getting the feedback system to be helpful—but not punishing—took a lot of iteration. Also, deciding what “correct” code looks like in frontend (where there are often multiple valid solutions) was a UX/design challenge in itself. The web app is called Zero. Zero is designed for beginner frontend developers and includes: Hands-on coding challenges AI-powered code evaluation (to give feedback on your code instantly) AI-generated frontend quizzes YouTube tutorial integration A built-in code editor for real-time practice It’s built with beginner growth in mind—less about theory, more about doing.

Apr 11, 2025 - 23:46

Tackling the 'what do I build next?' gap for beginner frontend devs — thoughts from building a learning tool

One challenge I consistently see as a web dev tutor is that beginners often hit a wall after learning the basics—HTML, CSS, JS, maybe some React. They get stuck in this limbo where they don’t know what to build next, what to study, or how to validate whether they’re on the right track.

I ran into the same thing early on in my own journey. Most learning paths eventually jump into data structures and algorithms, which can be overwhelming when you're still figuring out how to write solid, clean frontend code.

To help my students (and honestly, to scratch my own itch), I spent the last few months building a tool aimed at addressing this “gap phase.” The core features I focused on:

Practical coding challenges directly tied to frontend topics

Lightweight code evaluation for immediate feedback

Frontend-specific quizzes to reinforce concepts

Real-time practice with a built-in editor

Integrated video content for guided learning

The hardest part was balancing just enough complexity without overwhelming beginners. Getting the feedback system to be helpful—but not punishing—took a lot of iteration. Also, deciding what “correct” code looks like in frontend (where there are often multiple valid solutions) was a UX/design challenge in itself.

The web app is called Zero.

Zero is designed for beginner frontend developers and includes:

Hands-on coding challenges

AI-powered code evaluation (to give feedback on your code instantly)

AI-generated frontend quizzes

YouTube tutorial integration

A built-in code editor for real-time practice

It’s built with beginner growth in mind—less about theory, more about doing.