Especially as a beginner programmer, it can be very hard to find beginner-friendly coding projects. I remember struggling to find project ideas when I was a new programmer too. However, it is very important to keep learning by starting new projects. Therefore, this blog post will provide you with beginner coding project ideas to improve your coding skills!
You can implement those projects with almost every programming language.
Quick overview of the top 15 beginner coding project ideas
Here is a quick overview of the projects mentioned in this post. You can click them for further details.
Project #1: Unit converter
The first project is a simple unit converter that converts units, for example, meters into feet. If this project is too easy for you, you could try making a nice user interface instead of using the command line.
What you will learn:
- Handling and validating user inputs
- converting numbers
- (Building a UI)
Recommended platforms:
- Web
- Mobile
Project #2: YouTube video downloader
The second project is a YouTube video downloader to download videos from YouTube for free instead of paying for YouTube premium. Additionally, you can create a UI with some settings.
What you will learn:
- Working with APIs
- Working with (video) files
- Web requests
- (Building a UI)
Recommended platforms:
- Web
- Mobile
- PC
I recommend Python for the implementation of this project as there are a lot of useful libraries. Nevertheless, you can use any other language too.
Project #3: Password generator
Another fun project is a password generator that generates random characters to create a password. Moreover, you can add some features like disabling specific characters, letting the user enter a seed for the random generation, or adding a button to directly copy the password into the clipboard. Furthermore, I suggest creating a good-looking user interface.
What you will learn:
- Random generation
- Building a UI
- Working with the clipboard
- Customization (in form of customizing the random password)
Recommended platforms:
- Web
- Mobile
- PC
Again, you can use any programming language for this project. However, I recommend Python, JavaScript, and Java.
Project #4: Rock, Paper, Scissors game
How about a game? Everybody knows Rock, Paper, Scissors, but have you ever tried making it yourself? Despite seeming like a fairly easy project, it can be very challenging for a beginner. Hence, this project teaches you a lot.
You need to handle user input and validate it for a console game or even create a graphical version of the game.
What you will learn:
- Building a UI
- Handling and validating user inputs
- Random generation
- Very basic concepts of game design
- Web
- Mobile
For this project, you can choose any programming language you like.
Project #5: Tic Tac Toe game
Another game project is Tic Tac Toe. In my opinion, every beginner programmer should have done this project at least once because even though it seems easy, it teaches you a lot about validating user inputs and creating a basic game. In addition, you could even add a simple AI or create a multiplayer mode for playing over the network.
What you will learn:
- Validating user inputs
- Very basic concepts of game design
- Working with Maps, Lists, or Arrays
- (Creating a simple AI)
- (Networking)
Recommended platforms:
- Web
- Mobile
- PC
For this project, I recommend Python, Java, and JavaScript. However, you can use any other language instead.
Project #6: TO-DO app
The sixth project on this list is a simple TO-DO app. This project should be self-explanatory. Nevertheless, you can be creative and add some features like task synchronization between devices, different categories for tasks, or sharing TO-DOs with friends.
What you will learn:
- handling user input
- storing data
- organizing data
- creating a UI
Recommended platforms:
- Web
- Mobile
If you want to make a mobile app, I recommend dart with flutter. Otherwise, I, again, recommend Java, JavaScript, and Python. As always, you can use any other language too.
Project #7: Typing speed test
Another interesting project is a typing speed analyzer/tester like typingtest.com. This typing tester checks how long it takes the user to type a certain text and then provides some stats. Moreover, you can add some features like improvement tips based on a user’s result.
What you will learn:
- stopping the time
- analyzing data
- dynamically providing improvement tips based on a user’s results (engaging with the user)
- creating a UI
Recommended platform:
- Web
Because this project is recommended for the web, I also recommend JavaScript or Python for the implementation of this project.
Project #8: Bulk file renamer/mover
The eighth beginner coding project is a bulk file renamer, mover, or sorter that can rename, move, or sort a lot of files at once. For example, you could create a program that sorts all your downloaded files after the download date.
Such a program needs some kind of user input that it has to validate. For instance, the program should check if the entered file path is valid.
What you will learn:
- working with files
- validating user inputs
- (creating a UI)
Recommended platform:
- PC
Because almost every programming language is capable of working with files, it doesn’t really matter which one you choose for this project.
Project #9: Music player
A bit more advanced project is a music player that either plays local music files or even plays online music as Spotify does. While implementing this project, you have to learn about working with APIs and audio files, as well as building a user interface. In addition, you can add some features like playlists or a search.
What you will learn:
- working with APIs
- working with audio files
- playing audio
- creating a UI
Recommended platforms:
- Web
- Mobile
- PC
For this kind of project, I recommend C++, C#, Java, Python, and JavaScript. However, you can use any other language too.
Project #10: Calculator
The tenth project on this list is, again, a project that every beginner should have done at least once. Not only does it improve your understanding of the different logical and mathematical operators, but also does it teach you a lot about the data types. Of course, you can implement this project in the console. However, I suggest creating a good-looking user interface.
What you will learn:
- creating a UI
- using logical and mathematical operators
- using different data types
- validation of user input
Recommended platforms:
- Mobile
- PC
- Web
Every programming language should be suitable for this beginner coding project.
Project #11: Log in/Register page
The next beginner coding project is a Login or Register page for an app or a website. Although this seems like an easy project, it can get pretty complicated if you decide to add features like captchas, 2FA, and so on. Of course, don’t forget about validating the user’s inputs!
You can either just build the frontend or connect the page to a database for an actual log-in.
What you will learn:
- Building a UI
- using a database
- validating user inputs
- (using APIs)
Recommended platforms:
- Web
- Mobile
I recommend Python and JavaScript for the implementation of this particular project.
Why not make your own social media clone? That is a perfect practice for creating a frontend. Moreover, you could even add some features from the official apps like posting or making stories. Just make sure that you don’t seriously publish your clone if it is an exact copy.
What you will learn:
- creating a nice UI
- working with APIs
- working with databases
- handling multiple users
Recommended platforms:
- Web
- Mobile
I strongly recommend Python and JavaScript for a web application and Dart with Flutter or React Native for a mobile app.
Project #13: Chess game
Are you more into game development? Then I suggest building a chess game from the ground up. You can either make a 2D or even a 3D version. In addition, you can also add an AI or a multiplayer mode that allows you to play with your friends over the network.
What you will learn:
- Game design concepts
- Networking + Multithreading
- user input (movement) validation
- creating a UI
- using graphics
Recommended platforms:
- Web
- PC
Here, I recommend C++, C#, Java, Python, and JavaScript for the implementation of this project.
Project #14: Weather app
Creating a weather app is also perfect for improving your coding skills because you have to deal with APIs and a lot of data. Obviously it makes sense to create a UI for this kind of application.
If you want to give this project a shot, I can recommend the free OpenWeatherMap API for gathering the weather data.
What you will learn:
- creating a user interface
- working with APIs
- working with a lot of data
Recommended platforms:
- Web
- Mobile
Again, I recommend Python and JavaScript for a web application and Dart with flutter or React Native for a mobile app.
Project #15: Chat app
You can learn a lot about networking by making a chat app like WhatsApp or Signal because you will need to send messages over the internet. Of course, you could simply use an API. However, creating your own networking code for sending and receiving messages will teach you a lot more. In addition to sending and receiving messages, you can also encrypt them for more privacy as well as security.
To get started with networking, you can follow this article for a TCP server and this one for a TCP client.
What you will learn:
- networking
- encryption
- building a user interface
- (working with databases)
- Web
- Mobile
- PC
Basically, every programming language that is capable of socket programming or working with APIs should be suitable for this project.
Conclusion
Working on little projects like the ones listed above is the key to becoming a professional programmer, as they always teach you things that you didn’t know before. Even if projects seem easy the first time, they are still worth trying out because they give you good practice.
Thanks for reading!
Project #12: Social media site clone