Build a single-page web application
In this course, we’ll start from first principles. You’ll learn how navigation works in the browser, how to dynamically render content, and how SPAs differ from traditional multi-page applications. Then, we’ll build one together — step by step.
Along the way, you’ll manage shared state across multiple components, handle asynchronous data fetching, and update the UI without losing context. By the end, you’ll have a working SPA, and a clear mental model of how the browser turns code into an interactive application.
Single-Page Applications (SPAs) power much of the modern web — from dashboards and collaboration tools to streaming apps and marketplaces. They feel fast and app-like because they dynamically update the page without a full refresh.
But behind that smoothness lies complexity. SPAs introduce new challenges like client-side routing, state management, and browser history. It makes debugging and performance tuning feel opaque. Understanding how an SPA works is essential for contemporary web development.
What you’ll learn
Foundations of SPAs
UX improvements and differences from multi-page apps, state management, routing, data fetching, component design.Performance & Optimization Tricks
Eliminate jank, use code splitting for small bundle sizes, and deploy with a cache.Deploy to a static web host
Publish a website with a contemporary, simple static host.
Who is this course for?
This course is for intermediate-level web developers. You should be comfortable with HTML, CSS, and Javascript, and now you want to go deeper and build full-fledged web applications. Prior experience with React, Preact, or other SPA frameworks isn’t necessary — we’ll cover everything from the ground up.
If you’ve mostly built static sites, small interactive widgets, or traditional (server-rendered) websites, this course is for you.
Outcome
By the end of this course, you will understand how SPAs work, and feel confident designing and deploying your own web apps. You will build a functional guestbook application that demonstrates everything we cover here.
Included with purchase
- Written guides with examples / code snippets
- Github repo with source code
- Access to a private Discord server for questions