Becoming a front-end developer in just 90 days may sound ambitious, but with focus, structure, and the right resources, you can establish a solid foundation and even build marketable projects by the end of this roadmap. Over the next three months, you’ll progress through core web fundamentals, dive into JavaScript and tooling, then explore popular frameworks and build a portfolio. Let’s break down this journey week by week, with practical exercises, recommended tools, and actionable steps you can start today.

Phase 1: Days 1–30 — Mastering the Fundamentals

Week 1: HTML Essentials

Goal: Understand semantic HTML, structure, and accessibility basics.

• Day 1–2: Learn semantic elements

  • Read about <header>, <nav>, <main>, <section>, <article>, and <footer>.

  • Exercise: Sketch a simple blog layout on paper, then translate it into HTML using only semantic tags.

• Day 3–4: Forms and inputs

  • Explore <form>, <input>, <label>, and accessibility attributes like aria-label.

  • Exercise: Build a signup form with text, email, and password fields. Validate required inputs using HTML5 attributes.

• Day 5–7: Multimedia, links, and tables

  • Embed images (<img>), audio (<audio>), and video (<video>).

  • Create navigational menus using <ul>/<li>.

  • Exercise: Create a simple product page with an image gallery, description, and a specifications table.

Week 2: CSS Fundamentals

Goal: Gain fluency in styling, layout, and responsive design basics.

• Day 8–10: Selectors, box model, and typography

  • Understand element, class, ID, and attribute selectors.

  • Experiment with margins, padding, border, and box-sizing.

  • Exercise: Style the product page from Week 1 to match a provided design mockup.

• Day 11–13: Flexbox and Grid

  • Master Flexbox for one-dimensional layouts: display: flex; justify-content; align-items.

  • Dive into CSS Grid for two-dimensional control: grid-template-columns/rows, gap.

  • Exercise: Rebuild a three-column dashboard layout with Grid; then convert it to a responsive Flexbox nav bar.

• Day 14: Responsive breakpoints

  • Use media queries (@media screen and (max-width: …)) to adjust layouts for mobile, tablet, and desktop.

  • Exercise: Make your dashboard collapse gracefully on narrow screens.

Week 3: Developer Tools and Workflow

Goal: Set up an efficient environment and understand core workflow.

• Day 15–16: Code editor and extensions

  • Install Visual Studio Code and configure settings (auto-save, font ligatures).

  • Add extensions: Emmet (fast HTML/CSS snippets), Live Server, Prettier (code formatter).

• Day 17–18: Version control with Git

  • Learn git init, git add, git commit, and .gitignore.

  • Create a GitHub account and push your first repository:

    git remote add origin git@github.com:your-username/project.git git push -u origin main

• Day 19–21: Browser DevTools

  • Inspect elements, modify CSS live, monitor network requests, profile performance.

  • Exercise: Find and fix a layout bug by editing CSS in the DevTools panel.

Week 4: Building Mini-Projects

Goal: Reinforce fundamentals with small, focused projects.

• Day 22: Landing page clone

  • Pick any public landing page and replicate it pixel-for-pixel.

• Day 23–24: Responsive card component

  • Build a reusable card UI (image, title, description) that adjusts across viewports.

• Day 25–26: Simple form validation

  • Use JavaScript (in Phase 2 you’ll dive deeper) or HTML5 to validate inputs.

• Day 27–30: Personal homepage

  • Combine everything into a one-page portfolio site showcasing your mini-projects.

  • Tip: Host it on GitHub Pages or Netlify for live demos.

Phase 2: Days 31–60 — JavaScript, Tooling & Interactivity

Week 5: JavaScript Fundamentals

Goal: Master core JavaScript concepts and basic DOM manipulation.

• Day 31–33: Language basics

  • Practice let/const, functions (declarations vs. expressions), arrow functions, template literals.

  • Exercise: Write a function that formats a date string like 2025-04-18 into “April 18, 2025”.

• Day 34–36: DOM manipulation & events

  • Select elements (querySelector, getElementById), modify text and attributes.

  • Listen for events: click, input, submit.

  • Exercise: Turn your signup form into a dynamic component that shows success or error messages in-page.

• Day 37: Asynchronous JavaScript

  • Understand callbacks, Promises, async/await.

  • Exercise: Fetch data from a public API (e.g., JSONPlaceholder) and render it as a list.

Week 6: Advanced JavaScript & ES Modules

Goal: Adopt modern JS patterns and modular code organization.

• Day 38–40: ES6+ features

  • Destructuring, spread/rest, default parameters, optional chaining.

  • Exercise: Refactor your API-fetching code using async/await and destructuring.

• Day 41–43: Modules and bundlers

  • Split code into ES modules (import/export).

  • Set up a simple project with Vite or Rollup for fast hot-reloading.

  • Exercise: Create two modules—one for fetching data, one for UI rendering—and bundle them.

• Day 44–45: Linting and formatting

  • Integrate ESLint with Airbnb or Google style guide.

  • Add Prettier for consistent formatting.

Week 7: Version Control & Collaboration

Goal: Level up your Git skills and learn team workflows.

• Day 46–48: Branching and pull requests

  • Practice git branch, git checkout, git merge.

  • Open a pull request on GitHub and learn code review basics.

• Day 49–51: Project board and issue tracking

  • Use GitHub Projects or Trello to track features, bugs, and to-dos.

  • Exercise: Plan a feature for your portfolio site and move it through “To do”, “In progress”, and “Review”.

• Day 52–53: Introduction to testing

  • Install Jest and write unit tests for simple functions.

  • Exercise: Write tests for your date-formatting function and API module.

Week 8: Interactive To-Do App

Goal: Consolidate your JavaScript knowledge in a hands-on project.

• Day 54–56: Build UI layout

  • Create HTML/CSS for to-do list, including input field and list container.

• Day 57–59: Add interactivity

  • Write JS to add, remove, and cross out tasks.

  • Persist tasks in localStorage so they survive page reloads.

• Day 60: Refactor and test

  • Break code into modules, write unit tests, and add basic styling animations with CSS transitions.

Phase 3: Days 61–90 — Frameworks, Advanced Topics and  Portfolio

Week 9: Choosing and Learning a Framework

Goal: Pick a front-end framework (React, Vue, or Angular) and grasp its core concepts.

• Day 61: Evaluate options

  • React has a massive ecosystem; Vue is beginner-friendly; Angular is a full-featured framework.

  • Tip: Review “Top 7 Tech Skills to Learn in 2025” for in-demand proficiency insights: Top 7 Tech Skills to Learn in 2025.

• Day 62–65: Core concepts

  • React: JSX, components, props, state, hooks (useState, useEffect).

  • Vue: Templates, reactive data, directives, lifecycle hooks.

• Day 66–67: State management basics

  • Simple context in React or Vuex/Pinia in Vue for global state.

Week 10: Styling in Frameworks & UI Libraries

Goal: Integrate modern styling approaches with components.

• Day 68–70: CSS Modules and CSS-in-JS

  • Learn styled-components (React) or scoped CSS (Vue).

  • Exercise: Convert your to-do app styles into CSS Modules.

• Day 71–73: Utility-first frameworks

  • Install Tailwind CSS and refactor a component to use utility classes.

• Day 74: Component libraries

  • Explore ShadCN/UI, Material-UI, or Vuetify for rapid prototyping.

Week 11: Testing and Accessibility

Goal: Ensure your apps are robust and usable by everyone.

• Day 75–77: Component testing

  • Use React Testing Library or Vue Test Utils to write snapshot and behavior tests.

• Day 78–80: End-to-end testing

  • Set up Cypress to automate browser flows (e.g., user signup, adding a to-do).

• Day 81: Accessibility audit

  • Run Lighthouse’s accessibility checks; fix issues like missing alt tags, color contrast.

Week 12: Deploying and Showcasing Your Work

Goal: Put your skills on display and prepare for job applications.

• Day 82–84: Deployment

  • Deploy your projects on Netlify or Vercel in under five minutes.

  • Configure custom domains and HTTPS.

• Day 85–87: Crafting your portfolio

  • Highlight three key projects: mini landing page, interactive to-do app, framework-based app.

  • Write case studies: challenges you faced, how you solved them, and what you learned.

• Day 88: Resume and GitHub polish

  • Add detailed README files, clear commit history, and badges for testing and build status.

• Day 89: Networking and outreach

  • Connect with developers on LinkedIn; share your projects and write short posts about your journey.

  • Join relevant Discord or Slack communities to ask questions and offer help.

• Day 90: Reflection and next steps

  • Review your achievements.

  • Bonus: Automate your learning with AI—learn to use ChatGPT as a coding tutor here: AI-Powered Learning with ChatGPT.

Beyond 90 Days: Continued Growth

This roadmap gets your foot in the door, but front-end development is an ever-evolving field. Here’s where to go next:

• Advanced JavaScript & TypeScript: Level up with type safety and advanced patterns.

• Backend Basics: Learn Node.js/Express to build full-stack apps.

• Performance Optimization: Explore Webpack bundling strategies and lazy loading.

• Mobile & PWA: Convert your skills to React Native or build Progressive Web Apps.

For more strategies on breaking into tech from non-traditional backgrounds, check out our guide: How to Break into Tech Without a Degree. If you’re hunting for the best platforms to hone your skills, see our curated list of Best Online Platforms to Learn Practical Tech Skills in 2025.

Conclusions

Ninety days of focused, daily effort can transform you from a beginner to a confident front-end developer ready to tackle real-world projects. Keep experimenting, stay curious, and remember that consistency trumps intensity. By following this roadmap—building mini-projects, leveraging modern tools, and continuously refining your portfolio—you’ll stand out to employers and clients alike. Lace up your coding environment, bookmark these resources, and let’s get started on your journey to becoming a front-end pro!