JavaScript has been at the core of brilliant programs and websites for decades. Chances are that when you began coding, you imagined it was just a stepping stone to something entirely different in the future. But it has continued to evolve and is being used in ever cooler ways.
There are currently some amazing websites that use JavaScript. Here are my 5 favorite.
1. tota11y
Khan Academy needs no introduction. But if you have never heard of it before, I’ll give you a brief rundown! It’s an online academy that gives you free access to courses by some of the best academics in their fields. tota11y was created by Khan Academy in order to serve one simple purpose: improve accessibility. You use it, as a developer or part of a team, to flag problematic elements on websites, taking a screenshot and description of exactly what the problem is. It’s a simple example of impeccable JavaScript programming.
2. Leg Work
Leg Work is a graphic design and media company that is relatively well-known among designers. They do a great job at bringing websites to life, using illustrations, animations, interactive components, and more. Their own website is a perfect example of what they can do with JavaScript. Take a look at its mobile compatibility as well – considering mobile’s importance in today’s world.
3. Wrap Genius
There have been plenty of documentaries made about people going on fad diets, or eating something unhealthy for a month, or turning everything they eat into liquid. Wrap Genius is a lot more humble in its ambition. It’s not trying to sell you a particular way of life, but simply documenting developer Sam Slover’s diet for 10 weeks to give you a glimpse into someone doing his best to be conscious about what he eats. The website is beautifully made, and a lot of fun to navigate.
Incidentally, while Sam Slover wants everyone to see his personal information, you probably aren’t that generous. Using the web without a VPN is opening yourself up to identity theft, so make sure to find the best VPN service available.
4. Multeor
Powered by plain JavaScript using HTML5 Canvas (and backed with a Node.js server), Multeor is a simple multiplayer game that is addictive as well as aesthetically lovely. It works amazingly, is lightweight, only crashes when you tell it to, and its simplicity is stunning. The premise is that you have to crash a meteor into Earth, leaving the biggest trail of destruction. Sounds like some kind of metaphor, right?
5. Histography
The history of the universe is fascinating. It is both impossible to fully understand, as well as the subject of every physicist’s childhood dreams. And it becomes all the more incredible when you put it into context. What seems to humans like an eternity is nothing more than a speck in the greater history of the universe.
Histography uses JavaScript to fit everything that has ever happened (that has a Wikipedia page!) into a timeline. It achieves an easily navigable graph that can give you more insight into the true dimensions of time than any amount of imagining ever could.
