Full Stack Developer Roadmap (Step-by-Step)
Step 1: Basic Web Foundation
Topics to Learn:
1 HTML (semantic tags, forms, tables, media)
2 CSS (box model, flexbox, grid, animations)
3 Basic JavaScript (variables, loops, functions, events, DOM)
Free Resources:
1 FreeCodeCamp HTML & CSS: https://www.freecodecamp.org/learn
2 JavaScript.info: https://javascript.info/
Practice Projects:
1 Personal Portfolio Website
2 Simple To-Do List
3 Responsive Blog Page
Step 2: Advanced JavaScript & Modern Features
Topics to Learn:
1 ES6+ (let, const, arrow functions, destructuring)
2 Array & Object methods (map, filter, reduce)
3 Async JS (Promise, async/await, fetch API)
4 Basic API call
Free Resources:
1 MDN JavaScript Guide: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript
2 JavaScript 30: https://javascript30.com/
Practice Projects:
1 Weather App (OpenWeather API)
2 Movie Search App (OMDb API)
Step 3: Frontend Framework (React.js)
Topics to Learn:
1 React basics (components, props, state)
2 Hooks (useState, useEffect, useContext)
3 React Router
4 State Management (Redux ■■ Context API)
Free Resources:
1 React Docs: https://react.dev/
2 FreeCodeCamp React Course:
https://www.freecodecamp.org/learn/front-end-development-libraries/#react
Practice Projects:
1 E-commerce UI
2 Chat App (frontend only)
3 Blog with API data
Step 4: Backend Development (Node.js & Express)
Topics to Learn:
1 Node.js basics (modules, npm)
2 Express.js (routes, middleware)
3 REST API ■■■■
4 Authentication (JWT, bcrypt)
Free Resources:
1 Node.js Docs: https://nodejs.org/en/docs
2 Express.js Guide: https://expressjs.com/
Practice Projects:
1 Simple REST API
2 Authentication System (login/signup)
Step 5: Databases
Topics to Learn:
1 MongoDB (NoSQL)
2 Mongoose ORM
3 MySQL/PostgreSQL basics
4 CRUD operations
Free Resources:
1 MongoDB University Free Courses: https://university.mongodb.com/
2 SQLZoo: https://sqlzoo.net/
Practice Projects:
1 User Management System
2 Blog API with database
Step 6: Full Stack Integration
Topics to Learn:
1 Connect React frontend with Node backend
2 API requests from frontend
3 Environment variables
4 Error handling
Practice Projects:
1 Full Stack Blog
2 Full Stack E-commerce App
Step 7: Version Control & Collaboration
Topics to Learn:
1 Git basics (commit, push, pull)
2 GitHub workflow (branch, merge, PR)
Free Resources:
1 Git Handbook: https://git-scm.com/doc
2 GitHub Docs: https://docs.github.com/
Practice Projects:
1 Team project on GitHub
Step 8: Deployment & Hosting
Topics to Learn:
1 Frontend: Vercel, Netlify
2 Backend: Render, Railway, Heroku
3 Database hosting: MongoDB Atlas
Practice Projects:
1 Deploy your portfolio & API
Step 9: Advanced Topics (Optional but Powerful)
Topics to Learn:
1 GraphQL
2 TypeScript
3 Next.js (SSR, SSG)
4 Docker basics
5 WebSockets (real-time apps)
