How I Built a Free Online Typing Speed Test with Vanilla JavaScript

How I Built a Free Online Typing Speed Test with Vanilla JavaScript

I recently built TypeRacer Pro, a free online typing speed test focused on speed, accuracy, and a simple user experience.

🔗 Live Project: https://typeracer-pro-web.vercel.app/

What I Wanted to Build

The goal was to create a typing test that works directly in the browser without requiring users to create an account.

The application supports:

• 30, 60, and 120-second typing tests
• WPM calculation
• Accuracy tracking
• Easy, Medium, and Hard difficulty levels
• Real-time character highlighting
• Typing streaks
• Performance ratings
• Dark and light themes
• Local test history
• Responsive desktop and mobile UI

Technology Used

The project is intentionally lightweight:

HTML5
CSS3
Vanilla JavaScript
LocalStorage
Google Fonts
Vercel

No frontend framework or external JavaScript library is required.

WPM and Accuracy

One of the important parts of the project was keeping the typing calculations consistent while providing real-time feedback.

The interface tracks typed characters, calculates WPM and accuracy, and updates the statistics while the user is typing.

Test history is stored locally in the browser rather than being sent to a backend.

_ Responsive Design_

The application was designed for both desktop and mobile users.

The typing interface, navigation, controls, tables, and content pages adapt to smaller screens without changing the core typing experience.

What I Learned

Building a typing application looks simple at first, but keeping keyboard input, timers, statistics, UI updates, and user feedback synchronized requires careful JavaScript logic.

I also focused on keeping the project lightweight because responsiveness is particularly important for a typing application.

Try It

If you want to test it:

👉 https://typeracer-pro-web.vercel.app/

I'd be interested to hear what developers would improve or add to a browser-based typing test.