Monday, July 7, 2025
Codes

Create Your Own Chat App: A Beginner’s Guide with Code Examples

Creating a website like “ChatGPT” involves multiple components, including HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and possibly backend technologies. However, building a fully functional chat application like that requires a comprehensive development process beyond a simple code snippet.

Here, I’ll provide you with a simplified example of the front-end structure for a chat application. Please note that this is a basic starting point, and you’ll need to implement various features, such as real-time messaging and user authentication, to create a complete chat platform.

Install Visual Studio Code: If you haven’t already, download and install Visual Studio Code from the official website: https://code.visualstudio.com/

Create a New Project Folder: Create a new folder on your computer where you’ll store your project files. You can name it something like “ChatApp.”

Create Files: Inside your project folder, create three new files: index.html, styles.css, and app.js. You can do this directly from within VS Code by right-clicking the folder in the Explorer sidebar, selecting “New File,” and naming the file.

Copy and Paste Code: Open each file in VS Code and copy the corresponding code provided earlier into each file (index.html, styles.css, app.js) one by one.

HTML (index.html):

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<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
<title>Chat Application</title>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="styles.css">
</head>
<body>
<div class="chat-container">
<div class="chat-header">
Chat Room
</div>
<div class="chat-messages" id="chat-messages">
<!-- Chat messages will be displayed here -->
</div>
<div class="chat-input">
<input type="text" id="message" placeholder="Type your message">
<button id="send">Send</button>
</div>
</div>
<script src="app.js"></script>
</body>
</html>
<!DOCTYPE html> <html lang="en"> <head> <meta charset="UTF-8"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0"> <title>Chat Application</title> <link rel="stylesheet" href="styles.css"> </head> <body> <div class="chat-container"> <div class="chat-header"> Chat Room </div> <div class="chat-messages" id="chat-messages"> <!-- Chat messages will be displayed here --> </div> <div class="chat-input"> <input type="text" id="message" placeholder="Type your message"> <button id="send">Send</button> </div> </div> <script src="app.js"></script> </body> </html>
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
<title>Chat Application</title>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="styles.css">
</head>
<body>
  <div class="chat-container">
    <div class="chat-header">
      Chat Room
    </div>
    <div class="chat-messages" id="chat-messages">
      <!-- Chat messages will be displayed here -->
    </div>
    <div class="chat-input">
      <input type="text" id="message" placeholder="Type your message">
      <button id="send">Send</button>
    </div>
  </div>
  <script src="app.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

CSS (styles.css):

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body {
margin: 0;
font-family: Arial, sans-serif;
}
.chat-container {
width: 300px;
margin: 50px auto;
border: 1px solid #ccc;
border-radius: 10px;
box-shadow: 0 0 10px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1);
overflow: hidden;
}
.chat-header {
background-color: #007bff;
color: #fff;
text-align: center;
padding: 10px;
font-size: 18px;
}
.chat-messages {
max-height: 200px;
overflow-y: auto;
padding: 10px;
}
.message {
margin-bottom: 10px;
padding: 5px 10px;
border-radius: 5px;
background-color: #f2f2f2;
}
.chat-input {
display: flex;
align-items: center;
padding: 10px;
background-color: #f5f5f5;
}
input[type="text"] {
flex: 1;
padding: 8px;
border: none;
border-radius: 5px;
background-color: #fff;
box-shadow: 0 0 3px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2);
}
button {
background-color: #007bff;
color: #fff;
border: none;
padding: 8px 15px;
border-radius: 5px;
cursor: pointer;
margin-left: 10px;
}
body { margin: 0; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; } .chat-container { width: 300px; margin: 50px auto; border: 1px solid #ccc; border-radius: 10px; box-shadow: 0 0 10px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1); overflow: hidden; } .chat-header { background-color: #007bff; color: #fff; text-align: center; padding: 10px; font-size: 18px; } .chat-messages { max-height: 200px; overflow-y: auto; padding: 10px; } .message { margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 5px 10px; border-radius: 5px; background-color: #f2f2f2; } .chat-input { display: flex; align-items: center; padding: 10px; background-color: #f5f5f5; } input[type="text"] { flex: 1; padding: 8px; border: none; border-radius: 5px; background-color: #fff; box-shadow: 0 0 3px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2); } button { background-color: #007bff; color: #fff; border: none; padding: 8px 15px; border-radius: 5px; cursor: pointer; margin-left: 10px; }
body {
  margin: 0;
  font-family: Arial, sans-serif;
}

.chat-container {
  width: 300px;
  margin: 50px auto;
  border: 1px solid #ccc;
  border-radius: 10px;
  box-shadow: 0 0 10px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1);
  overflow: hidden;
}

.chat-header {
  background-color: #007bff;
  color: #fff;
  text-align: center;
  padding: 10px;
  font-size: 18px;
}

.chat-messages {
  max-height: 200px;
  overflow-y: auto;
  padding: 10px;
}

.message {
  margin-bottom: 10px;
  padding: 5px 10px;
  border-radius: 5px;
  background-color: #f2f2f2;
}

.chat-input {
  display: flex;
  align-items: center;
  padding: 10px;
  background-color: #f5f5f5;
}

input[type="text"] {
  flex: 1;
  padding: 8px;
  border: none;
  border-radius: 5px;
  background-color: #fff;
  box-shadow: 0 0 3px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2);
}

button {
  background-color: #007bff;
  color: #fff;
  border: none;
  padding: 8px 15px;
  border-radius: 5px;
  cursor: pointer;
  margin-left: 10px;
}

JavaScript (app.js):

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document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', () => {
const messageInput = document.getElementById('message');
const sendButton = document.getElementById('send');
const chatMessages = document.getElementById('chat-messages');
sendButton.addEventListener('click', () => {
const messageText = messageInput.value.trim();
if (messageText !== '') {
const messageElement = document.createElement('div');
messageElement.classList.add('message');
messageElement.textContent = messageText;
chatMessages.appendChild(messageElement);
// Clear input field
messageInput.value = '';
}
});
});
document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', () => { const messageInput = document.getElementById('message'); const sendButton = document.getElementById('send'); const chatMessages = document.getElementById('chat-messages'); sendButton.addEventListener('click', () => { const messageText = messageInput.value.trim(); if (messageText !== '') { const messageElement = document.createElement('div'); messageElement.classList.add('message'); messageElement.textContent = messageText; chatMessages.appendChild(messageElement); // Clear input field messageInput.value = ''; } }); });
document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', () => {
  const messageInput = document.getElementById('message');
  const sendButton = document.getElementById('send');
  const chatMessages = document.getElementById('chat-messages');

  sendButton.addEventListener('click', () => {
    const messageText = messageInput.value.trim();
    if (messageText !== '') {
      const messageElement = document.createElement('div');
      messageElement.classList.add('message');
      messageElement.textContent = messageText;
      chatMessages.appendChild(messageElement);

      // Clear input field
      messageInput.value = '';
    }
  });
});

Now Run the Code

Open the terminal in VS Code by selecting “Terminal” > “New Terminal.”

Navigate to your project folder by using the cd command. For example:

cd path/to/ChatApp

Run a local server to preview your HTML file. You can use a tool like live-server:

npm install -g live-server
live-server

This will start a local server, and you’ll see an address like http://127.0.0.1:8080 in the terminal. Open this address in your web browser to see the chat application.

Testing the Chat Application: Now, you can interact with the basic chat application you’ve created. Type a message in the input field and click the “Send” button to see your message displayed in the chat messages section.

Please note that this is a simple demonstration, and for a more advanced chat application like the one you referred to, you’ll need to implement features like real-time messaging, user authentication, and possibly backend technologies like Node.js and databases.

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