I recently created a simple Todo App using Vue 3 and Tailwind CSS as a reference project for my student. This project demonstrates modern frontend development practices while keeping the code clean and simple. You can check out the live demo at https://offskip-dave.github.io/vue3-tailwindcss-todo-app/.

Why This Stack?

Vue 3

Vue 3 is well suited for beginners for a lot of reasons, including:

• Gentle learning curve: Simple template syntax that's easy to understand
• Progressive framework: Start simple and add complexity as you learn
• Excellent documentation: Comprehensive guides and examples for every skill level
• Large community: Plenty of tutorials, forums, and resources for beginners
• Single File Components: Everything in one place - template, logic, and styles
• Reactive by default: Automatic UI updates when data changes
• Built-in dev tools: Browser extension for debugging and learning
• No build step required: Can start with simple HTML files and gradually adopt build tools

Tailwind CSS

Tailwind CSS is a utility-first CSS framework that:

• Speeds up development: No need to write custom CSS for common patterns
• Ensures consistency: Predefined design tokens and spacing scales
• Reduces bundle size: PurgeCSS removes unused styles in production
• Provides responsive design: Built-in breakpoint utilities

Key Features Implemented

The Todo App includes several fundamental features that every developer should understand:

1. State Management

Using Vue 3's reactive system to manage the todo list:

const todos = ref([]);
const newTodo = ref("");

2. CRUD Operations

• Create: Add new todos
• Read: Display the list of todos
• Update: Mark todos as complete/incomplete
• Delete: Remove todos from the list

3. Local Storage Persistence

Todos are automatically saved to the browser's local storage, so they persist between sessions.

4. Responsive Design

The app works seamlessly on desktop, tablet, and mobile devices thanks to Tailwind's responsive utilities.

5. Modern UI/UX

• Clean, minimalist design
• Smooth animations and transitions
• Intuitive user interactions

What Students Can Learn

This project serves as an excellent learning resource for:

Frontend Fundamentals

• Component-based architecture: Breaking UI into reusable pieces
• Reactive programming: Understanding how data changes drive UI updates
• Event handling: Managing user interactions
• Form handling: Input validation and submission

Modern Development Practices

• Single File Components (SFC): Vue's .vue file format
• Composition API: Modern Vue 3 patterns
• Utility-first CSS: Tailwind's for styling
• Responsive design: Mobile-first development

Tooling and Workflow

• Build tools: Understanding how modern bundlers work
• Development server: Hot reload and development experience
• Deployment: Static site hosting with GitHub Pages

Project Structure

The app follows a clean, organized structure:

src/
├── components/
│   ├── TodoList.vue      # Main todo list component
│   ├── TodoItem.vue      # Individual todo item
│   └── TodoForm.vue      # Add new todo form
├── App.vue               # Root component
└── main.ts               # Application entry point

Key Code Patterns

Composition API Usage

The project demonstrates the Composition API with custom composables:

// useTodos.js
export function useTodos() {
  const todos = ref([]);
  const newTodo = ref("");

  const addTodo = () => {
    if (newTodo.value.trim()) {
      todos.value.push({
        id: Date.now(),
        text: newTodo.value.trim(),
        completed: false,
      });
      newTodo.value = "";
    }
  };

  return { todos, newTodo, addTodo };
}

Tailwind CSS Styling

Utility-based styling:

<div
  class="overflow-hidden mx-auto max-w-md bg-white rounded-xl shadow-md md:max-w-2xl"
>
  <div class="p-8">
    <div class="text-sm font-semibold tracking-wide text-indigo-500 uppercase">
      Todo App
    </div>
  </div>
</div>

Learning Outcomes

After studying this project, students should be able to:

1. Understand Vue 3 fundamentals: Components, reactivity, lifecycle
2. Apply Tailwind CSS: Utility classes, responsive design, custom styling
3. Implement CRUD operations: Create, read, update, delete functionality
4. Handle user interactions: Forms, events, validation
5. Manage application state: Local state, persistence, data flow

Next Steps for Students

Once comfortable with this basic implementation, students can extend the project with:

• Backend integration: Connect to a real API
• Authentication: User login and registration
• Advanced filtering: Search, categories, priority levels
• Real-time updates: WebSocket integration
• Testing: Unit and integration tests
• Advanced styling: Custom components, animations

Conclusion

This Todo App demonstrates that modern web development doesn't have to be complex to be powerful. By combining Vue 3's elegant reactivity system with Tailwind CSS's utility-first approach, we can create clean, maintainable, and beautiful applications.

The project serves as a foundation for understanding modern frontend development patterns geared towards beginners. You can explore the live demo and source code to see these concepts in action. Feel free to fork the project and experiment with your own modifications!

This project is part of my ongoing effort to create practical, example resources for students learning modern web development. The code is open source and available for educational use.