Our 20 Most Popular Programming Articles of 2020

Here are the 20 most read articles on JavaScript In Plain English. Looking for inspiration for your next article — look no further!

As Editor of one of the most popular tech publications in the world, some of the questions I get asked a lot are: “what should I write about”, and “how can I write something that people will like?” Well, whether you’re here because you want answers to those questions, or you’re simply here to read some interesting things, here are the most popular articles on JavaScript In Plain English for 2020.

The following articles have been listed in order of number of claps received. This means that there may be a different order based on number of views, although claps generally are a good barometer of how popular an article is/how well it has performed.

1. 32 funny Code Comments that people actually wrote

32 funny Code Comments that people actually wrote

By XOR

Likes: 12.3k

2. Use Chrome DevTools Like a Senior Frontend Developer

Use Chrome DevTools Like a Senior Frontend Developer

By bitfish

Likes: 7.8k

3. 7 really good reasons not to use TypeScript

7 really good reasons not to use TypeScript

By Michael Krasnov

Likes: 7.1k

4. Please stop using Classes in JavaScript and become a better developer

Please stop using Classes in JavaScript and become a better developer

By Michael Krasnov

Likes: 5.8k

5. Stop Using console.log() In JavaScript

Stop Using console.log() In JavaScript

By Harsha Vardhan

Likes: 5.4k

6. 5 Secret features of JSON.stringify()

5 Secret features of JSON.stringify()

By Prateek Singh

Likes: 5.2k

7. 19 things I stole from great developers

19 things I stole from great developers

By Daniel Anderson

Likes: 5.1k

8. You don’t know JavaScript until you can beat this game

You don’t know JavaScript until you can beat this game

By Mert Mumtaz

Likes: 4.3k

9. Stop using the ‘else’ keyword in your code

Stop using the ‘else’ keyword in your code

By Trung Anh Dang

Likes: 4.1k

10. 11 Frontend tricks that most Frontend Developers don’t know about

11 Frontend tricks that most Frontend Developers don’t know about

By Daniel Anderson

Likes: 4k

11. 30 Programming Jokes That Will Make You Laugh

30 Programming Jokes That Will Make You Laugh

By Nehal Khan

Likes: 2.9k

12. 20 JavaScript Shorthand Techniques that will save your time

20 JavaScript Shorthand Techniques that will save your time

By Amitav Mishra

Likes: 2.9k

13. Why Proxies in JavaScript are fantastic

Why Proxies in JavaScript are fantastic

By bitfish

Likes: 2.9k

14. 11 things developers should know about GET vs POST

11 things developers should know about GET vs POST

By CBernardes

Likes: 2.7k

15. The JavaScript Cheatsheet you need in 2021

The JavaScript Cheatsheet you need in 2021

By: Stefania Simon

Likes: 2.6k

16. Should You Stop Using Objects and Arrays to Store Data?

Should You Stop Using Objects and Arrays to Store Data?

By Anurag Kanoria

Likes: 2.5k

17. 10 Essential GitHub Repos For Software Developers

10 Essential GitHub Repos For Software Developers

By Sunil Sandhu

Likes: 2.5k

18. 7 Free APIs That Nobody Is Talking About

7 Free APIs That Nobody Is Talking About

By Anurag Kanoria

Likes: 2.5k

19. Stop Using REST For APIs

Stop Using REST For APIs

By Harsha Vardhan

Likes: 2.5k

20. Setting up a large scale React application

Setting up a large scale React application

By Bruno Sampaio

Likes: 2.4k

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Bonus! (The Top 21–30)

21. How Single Page Applications broke Web Design

How Single Page Applications broke Web Design

By Erwin

Likes: 2.4k

22. You Must Understand These 14 JavaScript Functions

You Must Understand These 14 JavaScript Functions

By bitfish

Likes: 2.3k

23. TypeScript 4.0 finally delivers what I’ve been waiting for

TypeScript 4.0 finally delivers what I’ve been waiting for

By Nathaniel Kessler

Likes: 2.2k

24. Lessons I learnt from building my first large-scale app

Lessons I learnt from building my first large-scale app

By Victor Olaitan

Likes: 2.1k

25. Functions in JavaScript Have Much More Secrets Than You Think

Functions in JavaScript Have Much More Secrets Than You Think

By bitfish

Likes: 2.1k

26. The 6 tools that changed JavaScript for me

The 6 tools that changed JavaScript for me

By Edgar Rodríguez

Likes: 2k

27. 11 JavaScript Concepts Every Web Developer Should Know to Take Their Skills to The Next Level

11 JavaScript Concepts Every Web Developer Should Know to Take Their Skills to The Next Level

By Amy J. Andrews

Likes: 2k

28. 4 Powerful JavaScript Operators You’ve Never Heard Of

4 Powerful JavaScript Operators You’ve Never Heard Of

By Anthony Jimenez

Likes: 2k

29. 3 Developer Side Hustles That Will Make You Money Right Now

3 Developer Side Hustles That Will Make You Money Right Now

By Piero Borrelli

Likes: 1.9k

30. I Read The Entire React API. Here Is My Advice To New Developers

I Read The Entire React API. Here Is My Advice To New Developers

By ThankGod Ukachukwu

Likes: 1.8k

Conclusion

And there we have it! The top 20 (or 30) most liked articles published by JavaScript In Plain English in 2020. Given how crazy and miserable 2020 has been, it seems fitting that the most liked article went to a collection of jokes. After all, we could all do with a laugh!

Congratulations to those of you who made the list! 🎉

More importantly, I would like to take a moment to thank each and every one of you who has contributed an article over the past year. You are the ones that make this publication the force for good that it is.

I’d also like to thank every one of you who follows our publication and engages with the content. Be sure to leave some claps if you like these kind of lists — if so, we’ll be sure to make this a monthly occasion from 2021 onwards!

Much love! ❤️

Would you like to contribute towards In Plain English in 2021? Click here to find out how!