$25 CAD Amazon gift card + bragging rights.
Tip: Read the General Information Document for more info on how to get started and submit.
IMPORTANTFor security purposes, I will NOT be installing anyone's extensions on my local machine. To get Aesthetic points for your extension, please upload a 1 to 2 minute demo of the extension.
Today's objective is to create your own dashboard for Chrome.
Dashboards (a.k.a. "New Tab" pages) are a popular type of Chrome extension. Dashboards are relatively easy to build. In fact, they're amazing 1st projects for anyone looking to learn how to build a Chrome extension.
A very well-known one is Momentum, which replaces your New Tab page with a beautiful image, a clock, and an inspirational quote. Another is Gyroscope, which gives you your personal statistics, and Homey, which decorates your New Tab with a beautiful wallpaper and several widgets.
So, this is your task:
Create a Chrome extension that replaces your "New Tab" page with a design of your own choosing.
That's it!
But of course, only the most interesting, useful, and cool designs will have a chance of winning -- and they must be written well, too. So, get creative :-)
A Chrome extension is basically a .zip file. This project will contain a simple HTML page and some JS files zipped into a Chrome extension.
Given time constraints, you should definitely NOT build a backend component for this project.
You can read the following resources to get familiar with how to create this extension:
You can create a project of your own choosing, as long as it replaces New Tab.
Please make sure you pick something that can be completed in 2 hours AND with good quality code. So keep it simple :-)
Here are some suggestions to get your brain juices flowing.
(Feel free to mix and match)
- New Tab wallpaper replacer (Easy)
- New Tab with useful links (Easy)
- Notepad which persists its data (Easy)
- Useful utilities dashboard, like calculators and converters (Easy to Medium)
- News dashboard (Medium)
- Bitcoin and stock prices tracker (Medium)
- A simple game (Hard)
If you're building something complex, it is recommended that you use a framework such as React, Vue, Angular or jQuery.
Chrome extensions can be built with any framework. But if you don't want to use a framework, that's totally fine, too. Especially for this project, where a basic New Tab can be built with a simple HTML file.
Here are some useful suggestions:
- Get a random HD wallpaper from Unsplash (Use
https://source.unsplash.com/random/3840x2160for HD wallpapers) - Public APIs where you can source more data. (Look for "Auth: No, CORS: Yes". These APIs don't need additional overhead such as registration in order to work with them)
- Your project must use JavaScript.
- Your project must NOT have a backend component. (It really isn't needed)
IMPORTANTFor security purposes, I will NOT be installing anyone's extensions on my local machine. To get Aesthetic points for your extension, please upload a 1 to 2 minute demo of the extension.
There are no other restrictions.
- The project is intentionally simple so you can focus on code quality.
- The requirements are intentionally minimalistic so you can get as creative as you'd like.
- You get a LOT of time for code review comments. So you can win even if you feel your project isn't great, simply on the strength of your code review comments!
- Keep in mind, 33% of your score is based on aesthetic appeal! So try to make it look nice.