Frontend Engineer Roadmap
Phase 1: Web Foundations
Beginner Level
Build a strong base in core web technologies
HTML & CSS
- 1. Semantic HTML5 (forms, tables, media, accessibility basics)
- 2. CSS3 (selectors, box model, positioning, flexbox, grid, transitions)
- 3. Responsive design & mobile-first approach
- 4. CSS variables & BEM methodology
JavaScript (Core)
- 1. Variables (let/const), Data types
- 2. DOM manipulation
- 3. Events & Event delegation
- 4. Functions, Scope, Closures
- 5. Arrays, Objects, Loops, ES6+ features (arrow functions, spread, destructuring)
Beginner Projects
- 1. Personal Portfolio Website
- 2. Responsive Landing Page
- 3. Simple To-Do List (Vanilla JS)
Phase 1
Phase 2
Phase 2: Advanced JavaScript & Web APIs
Junior Level
Become confident with modern JS and browser APIs
Advanced JavaScript
- 1. Asynchronous JS (Callbacks, Promises, async/await)
- 2. Fetch API & REST API consumption
- 3. Modules (ES6 import/export)
- 4. Error handling & debugging
- 5. Object-Oriented JS & Prototypes
Web APIs & Browser Features
- 1. LocalStorage / SessionStorage
- 2. Geolocation API
- 3. File & Media APIs
- 4. Web Workers basics
Junior Projects
- 1. Weather App (API fetch + UI)
- 2. Notes App with LocalStorage
- 3. Movie Search App using OMDb API
Phase 2
Phase 3
Phase 3: Frontend Framework (React + Ecosystem)
Mid-Level
Master a modern frontend framework (React dominates 2025)
React Core
- 1. JSX, Components, Props, State
- 2. Events & Forms
- 3. Conditional rendering & lists
- 4. Hooks (useState, useEffect, useRef, useContext)
React Advanced
- 1. Custom hooks
- 2. React Router (navigation)
- 3. Context API & State Management basics
- 4. Performance optimization (memo, lazy loading)
Ecosystem & Styling
- 1. Tailwind CSS (modern styling)
- 2. Styled-components / CSS Modules
- 3. Component libraries (MUI, ShadCN, Radix UI)
Mid-Level Projects
- 1. Blog App (React + API)
- 2. E-commerce Product Page (React + Tailwind)
- 3. Chat UI with Context API
Phase 3
Phase 4
Phase 4: State Management & Next.js
Mid-Level → Advanced
Build scalable, production-ready apps
State Management
- 1. Redux Toolkit (or Zustand / Jotai alternatives)
- 2. Server state management (React Query / TanStack Query)
Next.js (Full-Stack Frontend)
- 1. File-based routing (App Router)
- 2. Server Components & Client Components
- 3. API Routes (backend inside Next.js)
- 4. Data fetching (SSR, SSG, ISR, CSR)
- 5. Authentication (NextAuth.js, Clerk)
- 6. Middleware & Edge Functions
APIs & Integrations
- 1. REST APIs (best practices)
- 2. GraphQL basics (Apollo / URQL)
- 3. Using third-party APIs
Projects
- 1. Full-stack Blog with Next.js (Auth + Database)
- 2. E-commerce Store (Next.js + Stripe Payments)
- 3. Dashboard (Next.js + Charts + Role-based Auth)
Phase 4
Phase 5
Phase 5: Advanced Frontend Engineering
Senior-Level Prep
Be industry-ready with real-world practices
TypeScript
- 1. Static typing for React & Next.js
- 2. Interfaces, Generics, Utility Types
- 3. Type-safe API calls & components
Testing
- 1. Unit testing (Jest, Vitest)
- 2. Component testing (React Testing Library)
- 3. E2E testing (Cypress, Playwright)
Performance & Optimization
- 1. Code splitting, Lazy loading, Bundle analysis
- 2. Caching strategies (Service Workers, SWR, TanStack Query)
- 3. Web Vitals & Lighthouse audits
CI/CD & DevOps Basics
- 1. Git & GitHub best practices (branches, PRs, Actions)
- 2. Deployment (Vercel, Netlify)
- 3. Docker basics (optional)
Senior-Level Projects (Portfolio-Ready)
- 1. SaaS Dashboard (Next.js + Auth + Payments + Charts)
- 2. Social Media App clone (Next.js + Realtime DB like Firebase/Supabase)
- 3. Project Management Tool (Kanban board with drag & drop)
Phase 5
Phase 6
Phase 6: Career & Growth
Professional Level
Get hired as a frontend engineer
Portfolio Building
- 1. 3–5 polished projects (case study style, not just code dumps)
- 2. Personal website with blog/portfolio
Soft Skills & System Knowledge
- 1. Collaboration (GitHub, Jira, Notion, Agile workflows)
- 2. Understanding UX & accessibility (WCAG 2.2)
- 3. API contracts & working with backend teams
Interview Prep
- 1. DSA basics (arrays, strings, recursion, common LeetCode easy/medium)
- 2. System design basics for frontend (SPAs, caching, CDNs)
- 3. Whiteboard problems (debouncing, throttling, event bubbling)
🎉 Congratulations! You're Industry Ready!
You've completed the Frontend Engineer Roadmap and are now ready to take on professional development challenges.