Getting Started with Vanilla JavaScript in 2024

Before reaching for React, Vue, or any other framework, there's real value in understanding what JavaScript itself can do. Browsers have evolved dramatically, and vanilla JS today is more powerful than ever.

Why Vanilla JS?

Modern browsers support ES2022+ features natively. You can use fetch, async/await, querySelector, and CSS custom properties without a single dependency.

A Simple Example

const data = await fetch('/api/posts').then(r => r.json());
data.forEach(post => {
  const el = document.createElement('div');
  el.textContent = post.title;
  document.body.appendChild(el);
});

Clean, readable, zero dependencies. Sometimes that's all you need.