One of the biggest challenges as a developer is keeping up with all of JavaScript’s latest frameworks and libraries. The web development world is ever-evolving and things change very often. People develop new updates and better ideas come up regularly. Subscribing to JavaScript newsletters is one way to keep up with recent trends and updates. In addition, the majority of the best JavaScript newsletters are free.
There are many JavaScript-related newsletters for developers on the web today, and it’s almost impossible to keep up with them all. To help you decide which is worth your valuable time, we’ve highlighted some of the biggest JavaScript newsletters in the industry. This article also presents a list of top JavaScript newsletters and their distribution schedule.
List of Top JavaScript Newsletters
Newsletter | Curator/Distributor | Schedule | Contents |
Awesome JavaScript | LibHunt Network | Weekly on Fridays | Top News and Trending libraries |
Gamedev.js Weekly | Andrzej Mazur from Enclave Games | Weekly on Fridays | JavaScript development articles, job listings, tutorials, competition announcements, demos, and games. |
JavaScript Kicks | The Kicks Network | Daily | General programming, Node.js, Testing, Functioning programming.JavaScript library, Javascript tools |
JavaScript Weekly | Cooperpress | Weekly on Fridays | News, tutorials, tools, and job listings. |
Mobile Dev Weekly | Brian Rinaldi and Holly Schinsky from Cooper Press | Weekly on Fridays | Articles, news, and tutorials |
Node Weekly | Peter Cooper, Cooperpress | Weekly on Fridays | Node JS news, articles, job listings, and coding tools |
React Native | Infinite Red | Biweekly on Tuesdays | React Native news, articles, libraries, apps |
React Status | Cooperpress | Weekly on Wednesdays | News, articles, job listings, tools, quick bits |
Vue.js News | Damian Dulisz (Vue.js core team member) | Weekly on Fridays | Top News and Trending libraries |
WebTools Weekly | Louis Lazaris | Weekly on Thursdays | Tutorials, web apps, React tools, libraries, and frameworks. |
The Biggest JavaScript Newsletters, Explained
Awesome Javascript
The Awesome JavaScript newsletter is a project hosted by the LibHunt Network, a website that provides libraries and open source projects to help developers get their work done. Each newsletter issue offers JavaScript news, JavaScript tutorial articles, and trending libraries to help developers update their knowledge and build quality software. Over 17,000 subscribers receive new issues every Friday.
Gamedev.js Weekly
Gamedev.js Weekly is a free newsletter for HTML5 game developers. It typically comprises general JavaScript development articles, JavaScript job listings, tutorials, competition announcements, demos, videos, and cool HTML5 games. This newsletter is curated and distributed every Friday by Andrzej Mazur, founder of Enclave Games.
JavaScript Kicks
The JavaScript Kicks newsletter is a weekly collection of best-rated articles on the JSK community platform. JavaScript Kicks is a subsidiary of The Kicks Network, a community of professionals created by connecting through content and discussion regarding JavaScript, the Angular framework, React, and Node.js. The newsletters usually feature articles on JavaScript libraries, frameworks, and tools.
JavaScript Weekly
The JavaScript Weekly newsletter is known for its consistently rich content, comprising a unique blend of news, tutorials, tools, and job listings. This free weekly print is curated by Cooperpress, a tech publisher for software developers founded by Peter Cooper. In 2010, it rolled out its first issue, but it has grown to produce over 570 issues with nearly 180,000 subscribers.
Mobile Dev Weekly
Mobile Dev Weekly newsletter is another popular publication helpful for JavaScript developers. It is curated by developers Brian Rinaldi and Holly Schinsky and published by Cooperpress. In over eight years of existence, it has helped developers with valuable news, tutorials, and articles about software engineering and mobile web technologies, including Javascript.
Node Weekly
Node Weekly is another popular newsletter curated by Peter Cooper’s Cooperpress. It focuses on delivering a weekly overview of Node.js news, articles, job listings, and coding tools weekly, specifically on Fridays via email. It launched the first issue in July 2013 and has gathered over 57,000 subscribers over the years.
React Native
React Native newsletter is a free biweekly publication that features articles, videos, libraries, and other resources to help boost subscribers’ Reactive Native development skills. It launched in April 2015 with Brent Vatne of Exponent as the initial curator. It is one of the best newsletters in its niche. Today, the newsletter is curated and distributed by Infinite Red and it has over 12,000 subscribers.
React Status
React Status is a weekly newsletter curated by Cooperpress, the same team behind JavaScript Weekly and Node Weekly. Distributed every Wednesday, it contains articles and tutorials on JavaScript, and React and React Native libraries for developing excellent user interfaces and building games. Each issue features tutorials, job listings, and tooling tips. It currently has over 50,000 subscribers.
Vue.js News
Vue.js News is backed by the Vue Core Team, with Damian Dulisz leading the newsletter team. Vue.js is a JavaScript framework for building one-page web applications and excellent user interfaces. The scope of the newsletter is to provide Vue developers with the latest news and a mix of tutorials to stay up-to-date with the Vue.js technology.
WebTools Weekly
The Web Tools Weekly newsletter is curated by Louis Lazaris and dedicated to discussing front end development and web design tools. The newsletter offers a brief tip, tutorial, and a weekly round-up of various web apps, scripting languages and libraries, plugins, and other valuable resources to front-end developers.
What Makes a JavaScript Newsletter Popular?
- The newsletter offers a lot of value. One of the things people look out for in a newsletter is quality and carefully curated links and articles. The most popular JavaScript newsletters are often those that consistently provide insightful news and web development trends, while addressing compelling issues developers face.
- The newsletter is free. Aside from providing quality content, the most popular newsletters are often free. This makes them a go-to for people looking to gain knowledge with little financial investment. Some curators also have a platform where they host a community of developers and provide other services.
- The newsletter is reader-friendly. The best development newsletters often come from great writers who present their information in a simple, clear tone. The content is usually easy to understand, engaging, and relatable to developers with varying JavaScript programming experiences.
Should I Look Beyond the Biggest JavaScript Newsletters?
You should look beyond the biggest JavaScript newsletters to get the necessary updates, tutorials, and other resources you need to develop your coding skills. When considering lesser-known tech newsletters, you should look out for the scope of the newsletter, the quality of their materials, plus the consistency of delivery. Some lesser-known JavaScript newsletters worth reading are Next.js News, The Daily JS, and All Things Open.
3 Reasons to Check Out Less Popular JavaScript Newsletters
- A smaller scale means a more personalized experience. The most popular JS newsletters typically have a wide variety of readers. If your particular needs don’t match what’s included in its weekly mailing, then it might not be an excellent fit for you. However, the less popular newsletters have an audience with more interests, making their content more fitting to individual subscribers.
- Enjoy more in-depth materials. The lesser-known email newsletters often feature more in-depth articles and tutorials as the curators have a more personalized understanding of their subscribers’ needs. They also provide more practical information with frameworks that may not be on my radar.
- Enjoy a better feedback system. The biggest JavaScript newsletters are typically crowded, complicating communication between the curators and individual subscribers. The smaller names have fewer subscribers, and they tend to have a faster feedback system and more active community. Subscribers can easily ask questions or comment on articles and expect prompt responses.
Are the Biggest JavaScript Newsletters Necessarily Better?
The biggest JavaScript newsletters are not necessarily better than less popular ones. What matters is the quality of content that the newsletter provides and its consistency. That said, popular newsletters typically have a stronger reputation and experience, making them a go-to for people who are new to JavaScript newsletters.
JavaScript Newsletters FAQ
Web developers should subscribe to JavaScript newsletters because many newsletters contain tutorials or examples that they can use as starting points for their projects. Having a solid knowledge of which tools are available and where they might fit into the workflow will give them more flexibility when developing solutions with other developers on team projects.
One isn’t better than the other. The majority of the biggest newsletters are free and offer JavaScript quality tutorials, frameworks, and libraries. On the other hand, paid JavaScript newsletters are often hosted by private communities and may provide unique offerings, like job postings and tutorials.
Subscribing to newsletters may not be sufficient to learn JavaScape development. However, they may be more effective when combined with other more structured learning paths. The resources that the newsletters provide will help deepen your knowledge of JavaScript best practices and frameworks to boost your problem-solving skills.
Frontend Focus is a newsletter for developers that is curated by Cooperpress. With over 77,000 subscribers, it is a popular web development newsletter, although it does not provide a specific emphasis on JavaScript. It provides a weekly roundup of front end news, articles, tutorials, and job listings. The issues cover HTML, CSS, WebGL, Canvas, and other browser technology that drive better web browsing performance.
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