Learning how to code is a constant and productive challenge of wrapping your mind around new concepts, patterns, and possibilities. This means that just like any other skill, if you want to excel, you’ll need to practice! The idea of beginning your own projects may seem daunting, especially if your long-term goals are big, but the reality is that you don’t have to jump right into them. Read on for some smaller projects that will help you build your coding skills:

Create a mobile app

Being able to create interfaces that are friendly to mobile devices is a skill that is absolutely relevant to your field of study. HTML and CSS can be used to create interesting and appealing layouts that can be integrated into an Android or iOS app. When brainstorming for this project, feel free to start out with a basic concept, such as a countdown timer, recipe manager, or interactive to-do list.

Virtual pet simulator

For those who would like more cuteness in their life, building a virtual pet simulator is a great project to start out with. First, choose a creature you’d like to design, and then give your pet characteristics such as age, health, happiness, and a name. Another step toward making this project functional is to program your pet to have responses to stimuli. The more interactive you make your pet, the more fun this project will be!

Build a calculator

This is one of the most popular projects for beginners to try. It allows you to practice creating a layout, as well as implementing logic that reads the layout and processes information to produce a result. It’s a very simple project to start, but also provides a solid challenge in building your core skills.

Create a rock, paper, scissors game

This type of project requires you to account for both user input and random result generation, making it a great standard project to use for practice. It provides novice coders with the instant gratification of being able to play the game immediately after it is finished, which can go a long way in maintaining long-term inspiration.

Build a basic HTML5 website

This is a project that has the potential to be immensely educational. Creating a basic website requires you to combine your knowledge of basic design principles such as web hosting, file linking, and coding logic. This project could also be a great example of your work to put in your portfolio.
Learning to code requires you to build upon your skills regularly. The key to this is maintaining a regular flow of projects that challenge you to expand your knowledge and encourage you to believe that you have the power to learn as much about coding as you set your mind to!