JavaScript for Small Business Jump Start
Build three small, useful JavaScript tools in the free JSFiddle, typing every line yourself: an instant quote calculator for your website, due-date reminders for open invoices, and a contacts table filled live from an API.
JavaScript for Small Business Jump Start is a free, hands-on AI course for owners, office managers and marketers who want their web pages to do a little more, or want to read and adjust code a developer or AI assistant wrote: 3 short modules (about 39 minutes in all) where you do each step yourself in a safe practice copy of JSFiddle, which checks your work. No coding, no cost, and you can start without signing up.
Who it’s for: Owners, office managers and marketers who want their web pages to do a little more, or want to read and adjust code a developer or AI assistant wrote. A browser is enough: JSFiddle is free and needs no account.
Why this course
Small page features save real time: a visitor gets a price without an email back and forth, the books show which invoices are late, and contacts arrive from another system without copying. Each is a few lines of JavaScript.
This jump start builds three of them for made-up small businesses. Every practice screen is a real JSFiddle screen, and you type every line yourself, a few lines per step, so the code makes sense when you meet it again.
What you’ll build
- Module 1: A small quote form: a heading, a Square feet box, a Get my quote button and a result line, plus the JavaScript behind it.
- Module 2: A small page that lists each open invoice with its due date and either "due in N days" or "OVERDUE by N days".
- Module 3: A Client contacts table filled from an API: ten rows, each with a name, a company name and an email.
- Module 1 · JSFiddle · Beginner · ~12 min
JavaScript: An Instant Quote Calculator for Your Website
Jordan (made up) runs Brightway Office Cleaning. Every enquiry starts with "How much for our office?", then an email asking for the size, then a price a day later, by which time half the leads have asked someone else.
- Module 2 · JSFiddle · Beginner · ~15 min
JavaScript: Turn Invoice Dates into Due-Date Reminders
Every Friday the owner of Northgate Bookkeeping (made up) checks which client invoices are coming due and which are already late: open each invoice, add 30 days on a calendar, count the days. It is slow, and a late invoice slips through now and then.
- Module 3 · JSFiddle · Beginner · ~12 min
JavaScript: Pull Contacts from an API into a Table
Most business tools (CRMs, accounting, booking and support apps) share their data through an API: a web address that answers with data instead of a page. Without one, someone copies contacts from one system into a spreadsheet by hand every week.
Prerequisites
- For the practice: a web browser. Each module runs in a copy of the real tool’s screens, so you need no account and no sign-up to start module 1.
Time to complete
About 39 minutes of hands-on practice across 3 modules (33 steps in all). Modules take 12 to 15 minutes each, so you can do one in a sitting and come back for the next.
Take it with you
JavaScript for small business cheat sheet: the settings and words from this course on one printable page. Read it online · Download the PDF
Glossary
Questions about this course
Is JavaScript for Small Business Jump Start free?
Yes. All 3 modules of JavaScript for Small Business Jump Start are free, and you can start module 1 without signing up.
How long does JavaScript for Small Business Jump Start take?
About 39 minutes of hands-on practice across 3 modules, beginner. Each module takes 12 to 15 minutes, so you can do one at a time.
Which tools will I practice in?
JSFiddle. You practice in a copy of each tool's real screens that checks every step, so nothing touches your real accounts, and no coding is needed.
Who is JavaScript for Small Business Jump Start for?
Owners, office managers and marketers who want their web pages to do a little more, or want to read and adjust code a developer or AI assistant wrote. A browser is enough: JSFiddle is free and needs no account.
Where do I start?
Start with module 1, JavaScript: An Instant Quote Calculator for Your Website. The modules are in order, so each one builds on the last.
Do I need to install anything?
No. JSFiddle (jsfiddle.net) runs HTML and JavaScript in your browser for free, with no account needed to try code.
Can I put the quote calculator on my own website?
Usually yes: most site builders have an HTML or code block where the same HTML and JavaScript can be pasted. Ask whoever manages your site.
Do I have to type the code?
Yes, on purpose: every step is one to three short lines you type yourself. In the practice, line breaks are optional.
What do I need before I start JavaScript for Small Business Jump Start?
Only a web browser for the practice: it runs in a copy of each tool's screens, so you need no account and no sign-up to start module 1.
What will I build in JavaScript for Small Business Jump Start?
A finished result in 3 of the 3 modules, for example: A small quote form: a heading, a Square feet box, a Get my quote button and a result line, plus the JavaScript behind it; A small page that lists each open invoice with its due date and either "due in N days" or "OVERDUE by N days"; A Client contacts table filled from an API: ten rows, each with a name, a company name and an email.