How to Build a Chat App
Creator: Hannat Salami August 24, 2026What You'll Learn
- Establish bi-directional client-server communication using native WebSockets and Socket.io
- Configure an Express HTTP server to manage persistent WebSocket connections
- Emit and broadcast custom real-time events across connected clients
- Implement typing indicators and real-time user activity detection
- Assemble a complete multi-user chat application with instant message delivery
About This Course
In this course, you will build a real-time messaging application from scratch using WebSockets, Socket.io, and Node.js. You will transition from standard HTTP request-response patterns to persistent, bi-directional communication channels that send and receive data instantly. Throughout the modules, you will integrate Socket.io with an Express server, track live user activity, and display dynamic typing indicators. By the end, you will have built a functional multi-user chat application and acquired the core patterns needed to add real-time features to any web project.
Who this is for: This course is built for intermediate web developers looking to master real-time data flow. You should have a working familiarity with modern JavaScript, basic Node.js, and Express.
Modules
01: Introduction to WebSockets
19 min
02: Socket.io Fundamentals
22 min
03: Express Server Integration
11 min
04: Chat Activity and Typing Detection
16 min
05: Building Complete Chat Application
60 min
01: Introduction to WebSockets
19 min
02: Socket.io Fundamentals
22 min
03: Express Server Integration
11 min
04: Chat Activity and Typing Detection
16 min
05: Building Complete Chat Application
60 min
Final Quiz
Covers all 5 modules. Pass with 80% or higher to complete the course.
New To YouVersity?
This course is built from real YouTube videos, structured into modules with quizzes and progress tracking. Original creators keep every view and every ad dollar — courses just send them focused, motivated viewers.
- Structured modules
- Free to enrol
- Progress saved across devices
- Quizzes after each section
Ready To Start?
Begin the first module now. No credit card needed
Before You Decide
Related Courses
Modern Web Development: HTML, CSS & JavaScript
Build the web from scratch: structure pages with HTML forms, lay them out with CSS flexbox and responsive media queries, then bring them to life with JavaScript fundamentals, functions, DOM manipulation and fetching data from APIs.
David M.
Vibe Coding For Beginners
"Vibe Coding for Beginners" introduces you to building software using AI where you focus on the big-picture ideas while AI handles the actual typing of the code.
Hannat S.
Learning Claude Code: Agentic Coding with VS Code
Learn how to use Claude Code, Anthropic's AI coding agent, directly inside VS Code. This course covers installing and setting up Claude Code, understanding agentic workflows, driving multi-step coding tasks with prompts, using the VS Code extension, managing context and memory, and practical tips for shipping real features with an AI pair programmer.
Mike M.