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If you’re having trouble with your website or seeing error messages, it could be because JavaScript is turned off in your browser settings. Here’s how to turn JavaScript on.
Checkout this video:
Introduction
JavaScript is a programming language that adds interactivity to your website (for example: games, responses when buttons are pressed or data entered in forms, slideshows, etc.).
Most modern browsers have JavaScript built in and enabled by default. If you’re having trouble with a website, try turning JavaScript off to see if that fixes the problem.
Follow the steps below to turn JavaScript on or off in major browsers.
What is JavaScript?
JavaScript is a programming language that helps make webpages more interactive. For example, on a page with JavaScript you could have an image slide in or out, or content load quickly when you click on something.
JavaScript is most commonly used in web browsers, but it is also used in servers, desktop applications, and mobile apps.
How to turn on JavaScript
When you visit a website, your browser sends a request to the site’s server. The server then sends back the HTML code for the page, which your browser renders as a webpage. The HTML code includes instructions called “scripts” that tell your browser how to do things, such as display images or run interactive content.
Most websites use JavaScript, a type of script code. JavaScript allows your browser to do things that HTML alone cannot do, such as creating drop-down menus, slide-outs and other special effects. It also enables web pages to communicate with each other and with external applications, such as Google Maps or Facebook.
In order for these things to work, JavaScript must be enabled in your browser. When JavaScript is turned off, you will see some disabled features on websites you visit; however, most sites will still work with JavaScript turned off. If you want to experience all that the web has to offer, it’s best to keep JavaScript enabled in your browser. Here’s how:
How to turn off JavaScript
If you’re having trouble with a website, try disabling JavaScript. Here’s how to do it in different browsers on different platforms.
Microsoft Edge
On the top right-hand side of the browser, click the three horizontal dots Select Settings. Under Advanced settings, select View advanced settings. Under the JavaScript heading, ensure that the toggle is set to off .
Google Chrome
To the right of the address bar, click the three horizontal dots Select Settings. At the bottom of the page, click Show advanced settings. In the “Privacy” section, click Content settings. In the JavaScript section, choose Do not allow any site to run JavaScript.
Mozilla Firefox
On the top right-hand side of the browser, click the three horizontal bars Select Options. In the left-hand column, select Content from the options. Ensure that under Active Content JavaScript is set to Disable or Prompt . If you select Prompt then you will be asked each time a website tries to load JavaScript code on your computer.
How to troubleshoot JavaScript errors
There are two types of JavaScript errors: syntax errors and runtime errors. Syntax errors, also called parsing errors, occur at compile time in traditional programming languages and at interpret time in JavaScript. Runtime errors, on the other hand, occur while your program is running.
JavaScript syntax errors are usually caused by a mistake in the let or const keyword or the semicolon ; character. For example, the following line of code causes a syntax error because it is missing the semicolon ; character:
let x = 42
Runtime errors are usually more difficult to debug because they can occur anywhere in your program. A runtime error is caused by attempting to access a variable that does not exist or by invoking a function that is not defined. For example, the following line of code causes a runtime error because it attempts to invoke the undefined function myFunction() :
myFunction()
Conclusion
Finally, if you want to try out some of the features that JavaScript offers without messing around with your browser’s settings, you can always visit a site like [JSFiddle](https://jsfiddle.net/) or [CodePen](https://codepen.io/) that allows you to write and execute JavaScript code right in your web browser.
