The Ultimate 2025 Guide: 3 Ways to Display JSON Data

Introduction: Why Displaying JSON Matters in 2025

In the modern web development landscape, JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) is the undisputed king of data interchange. From fetching API responses and managing application state to loading configuration files, developers interact with JSON daily. But raw JSON, with its brackets, braces, and quotes, isn't exactly user-friendly. Effectively displaying this data is crucial for creating intuitive user interfaces, powerful admin dashboards, and useful debugging tools.

As applications become more data-driven in 2025, knowing how to transform raw JSON into a clean, readable, and interactive format is a fundamental skill. This guide explores three distinct and powerful methods for displaying JSON data, catering to different needs—from full-control manual rendering to quick, developer-focused tools.

Prerequisite: Understanding Your JSON Structure

Before you can display JSON, you need to understand its structure. Most JSON you'll encounter from APIs comes as a string. The first step is always to parse it into a JavaScript object using JSON.parse().

const jsonString = '[{"id": 1, "name": "Product A", "price": 19.99}, {"id": 2, "name": "Product B", "price": 29.99}]';
const data = JSON.parse(jsonString);

Once parsed, identify the structure. Is it an array of objects? A single nested object? Knowing this determines how you'll loop through it and access its properties, which is essential for the methods that follow.

Method 1: Manual Rendering with Vanilla JavaScript

This is the foundational approach. It gives you complete control over the final HTML output, allowing for perfect integration with your existing styles and functionality. It involves using JavaScript to iterate over your JSON data and dynamically create HTML elements.

Displaying JSON as an HTML List

If your JSON is an array of objects and you want to display a simple list of items, creating an unordered list (<ul>) is a great choice. This is perfect for displaying names, titles, or simple entries.

Imagine you have an API response of users. You can map over the array and create a list item (<li>) for each user.

HTML Container:

<ul id="user-list"></ul>

JavaScript Logic:

const users = [
  { "id": 101, "name": "Alice", "email": "alice@example.com" },
  { "id": 102, "name": "Bob", "email": "bob@example.com" },
  { "id": 103, "name": "Charlie", "email": "charlie@example.com" }
];

const userListContainer = document.getElementById('user-list');

users.forEach(user => {
  const listItem = document.createElement('li');
  listItem.textContent = `${user.name} - ${user.email}`;
  userListContainer.appendChild(listItem);
});

This method is straightforward, has no external dependencies, and is incredibly performant for simple to moderately complex data structures.

Displaying JSON as an HTML Table

For more structured data, especially an array of objects where each object has the same keys, an HTML table is the ideal display format. It's organized, easy to scan, and familiar to users.

Let's use JavaScript to build a table header from the object keys and then populate the rows with the data.

HTML Container:

<table id="data-table"></table>

JavaScript Logic:

const products = [
  { "id": "P001", "name": "Laptop Pro", "stock": 45, "price": 1200 },
  { "id": "P002", "name": "Wireless Mouse", "stock": 150, "price": 25 },
  { "id": "P003", "name": "Mechanical Keyboard", "stock": 75, "price": 80 }
];

const tableContainer = document.getElementById('data-table');

// Create table header
const thead = tableContainer.createTHead();
const headerRow = thead.insertRow();
const headers = Object.keys(products[0]);
headers.forEach(key => {
  const th = document.createElement('th');
  th.textContent = key.charAt(0).toUpperCase() + key.slice(1); // Capitalize
  headerRow.appendChild(th);
});

// Create table body
const tbody = tableContainer.createTBody();
products.forEach(obj => {
  const row = tbody.insertRow();
  headers.forEach(key => {
    const cell = row.insertCell();
    cell.textContent = obj[key];
  });
});

While more verbose, this gives you granular control over every cell and row, allowing for custom styling, event listeners, or complex cell formatting.

Method 2: Using a Dedicated JSON Viewer Library

When your requirements go beyond a simple list or table, a dedicated library can save you hours of development time. These libraries are purpose-built to render JSON in a beautiful, interactive, and feature-rich way.

Why Use a Library?

Manual rendering is great, but it falls short when you need features like:

• Collapsible Nodes: Easily expand and collapse nested objects and arrays.
• Syntax Highlighting: Color-coded display for better readability.
• Clickable URLs: Automatically detect and link URLs within the JSON.
• Search and Filtering: Quickly find the data you're looking for.
• Theming: Light and dark modes to match your application's UI.

Implementing these from scratch is a significant undertaking. A library provides them out of the box.

Example with a Lightweight Library

There are many libraries available, from simple formatters to complex data grids. For this example, let's imagine a hypothetical lightweight library called pretty-json-viewer.js.

Typically, using such a library is a simple two-step process:

1. Include the library's CSS and JS files in your HTML.

<link rel="stylesheet" href="path/to/pretty-json-viewer.css">
<script src="path/to/pretty-json-viewer.js"></script>

2. Initialize the viewer on a container element.

HTML Container:

<div id="json-viewer"></div>

JavaScript Logic:

const complexData = {
  "user": {
    "id": 42,
    "username": "johndoe",
    "profile": {
      "fullName": "John Doe",
      "is_active": true,
      "roles": ["admin", "editor"],
      "contact": null
    }
  },
  "lastLogin": "2025-01-15T10:00:00Z"
};

const container = document.getElementById('json-viewer');
// The library provides a simple API to render the data
new PrettyJsonViewer({
  element: container,
  data: complexData,
  isCollapsible: true
});

With just a few lines of code, you get a fully interactive JSON tree. This is the preferred method for building admin panels, API documentation tools, or any interface where users need to explore complex JSON structures.

Method 3: The Simple <pre> Tag with Syntax Highlighting

Sometimes, you don't need a polished user interface. For debugging, quick data inspection, or internal developer tools, the goal is speed and accuracy, not beauty. This is where the humble <pre> tag shines.

The Quick and Dirty Approach for Developers

The <pre> tag preserves whitespace and formatting, making it perfect for displaying pre-formatted text. By combining it with JSON.stringify(), you can instantly display a JSON object in a readable, indented format.

The magic lies in the third argument of JSON.stringify(value, replacer, space). The space argument inserts whitespace into the output string for readability.

HTML Container:

<pre id="raw-json"></pre>

JavaScript Logic:

const apiResponse = {
  status: 200,
  data: [{ id: 1, item: 'Example' }],
  meta: { timestamp: new Date().toISOString() }
};

const preContainer = document.getElementById('raw-json');
// The '2' tells stringify to use 2 spaces for indentation
preContainer.textContent = JSON.stringify(apiResponse, null, 2);

This is the fastest way to get JSON onto a screen. It's not interactive, but it's an invaluable tool for developers.

Adding Syntax Highlighting

To make the <pre> output even better, you can add syntax highlighting. Libraries like Prism.js or highlight.js are excellent for this. They analyze the code within a <pre><code> block and apply CSS classes to color-code keys, strings, numbers, and booleans, drastically improving readability.

After including a library like Prism.js, you would slightly modify your HTML and JS:

HTML:

<pre><code class="language-json" id="raw-json-highlighted"></code></pre>

JavaScript:

const codeContainer = document.getElementById('raw-json-highlighted');
codeContainer.textContent = JSON.stringify(apiResponse, null, 2);
Prism.highlightElement(codeContainer); // Tell Prism to process the element

Conclusion: Choosing Your Path to Clean Data Display

The best way to display JSON data in 2025 depends entirely on your context. There is no single "best" method, only the right tool for the job.

• Choose Manual JavaScript Rendering when you need full control over the look, feel, and functionality of the display. It's perfect for integrating data seamlessly into a unique user interface.
• Opt for a Dedicated Library when you need to provide a rich, interactive data exploration experience without reinventing the wheel. It's the go-to for admin panels and developer tools where features trump bespoke design.
• Use the <pre> Tag Method for the fastest, simplest way to view raw JSON for debugging or internal logs. It's a developer's best friend for quick and dirty data inspection.

By understanding these three approaches, you can confidently handle any JSON data that comes your way, transforming it from a raw string into a valuable, readable, and functional part of your application.