What Makes a Great JavaScript Developer?

In 1995, Brendan Eich developed a programming language which went through a series of names before finally settling on JavaScript, commonly initialised as 'JS'. Today JS is widely used in the creation of websites and web applications. However, like anything else in life, some excel in JS, whilst others find it a tricky language to master.

With this in mind, how do you progress from a novice JS developer to a great JavaScript developer?

How to Become a Great JavaScript Developer ‑ Tips

JavaScript has been an important tool in the arsenal of developers for many years, and now, it is part of the basic skills you should have before you proclaim yourself as a competent and skilled web developer. Since it plays such a crucial part in front‑end development, it becomes necessary to have a comprehensive understanding of JavaScript. But before you can be considered a great JavaScript developer, you should understand all aspects of the language. They include:

1. Understanding Your Ide

JavaScript is not considered the most straightforward language to learn. It is constantly changing, and it can become confusing, especially if you are just starting out. That is why before you can become a master, you should understand and have a working knowledge of the different integrated development environments (or IDE). Although traditional environments like Atom and Sublime are easy to use, you may start experiencing trouble when you develop on a larger scale.

Personally, I have been using Visual Studio Code for several years. The fact that you can sync your IDE settings using your GitHub account is even better; allowing you to retain all the personalisation, linting, indentation, etc settings across devices ‑ especially handy when setting up a new project machine!

2. Different Applications

Being an ever‑evolving and widely‑known development language, JS has found uses in many areas of application development. There are a million and one contexts where JavaScript works well for development. Once you understand the language and the syntax, you should be able to use JavaScript in any application when developing a functional system.

3. Frameworks

There are even more versions of JavaScript today, and more are coming. And since you could use JS in different contexts, there is a chance that the specs could change, despite the syntax. Make sure that you are comfortable enough with the frameworks you are using to code. To be considered a great JavaScript developer, you should be able to tell apart and work competently with these different frameworks and ECMAScript versions.

4. Organisation and Debugging

No one writes code perfectly. When you make errors, you should be able to analyse your code with debugging tools to pinpoint the problem and offer a viable solution. These skills help you save time to produce your project quicker, and with fewer bugs that need sorting at a later date.

My Advice...

Keep challenging your skill level and learn something new whenever you interact with other JavaScript developers and when you take on new projects. Ensure you understand the basics before you rush into massive projects, as this could derail your progress and your reputation within the development community.

What I Look for Now

Syntax knowledge is only the starting point. The stronger JavaScript developers I have worked with are good at narrowing a problem, reading unfamiliar code, debugging calmly and knowing when a small boring solution is better than a clever abstraction.

They also understand the runtime they are working in. Browser JavaScript, Node.js, server‑rendered React and build tooling all have different failure modes. Knowing where the code runs is often half the debugging work.

Production Judgement

In production work, good judgement shows up in small decisions: adding the test that catches the bug, naming a function so the next developer understands it, checking the loading and error states, and asking whether the code is still clear without the author in the room.

That is the part that takes time. You can learn syntax quickly. Developing the judgement to keep a JavaScript codebase healthy whilst real users and real deadlines push against it is the longer craft.