openings very confusing

I just recently got back into chess my middle game is decent but my openings are constantly getting me into trouble what is the best way to get better does it just come with years of playing or is there a quicker way any help or advice would be appreciated

tactics are the best way, you can do TT here, on chess tempo or from a tactics book.

endgames come a close second, theres plenty of resources on these that you should be able to find.

As for openings they do not matter that much, i suggest you play 1.e4, answer 1.e4 with 1..e5 and 1.d4 with 1..d5.

How can you say openings do not matter much? Without a solid opening or opening preparation, you can't hope to get to a favorable endgame or be given winning chances in the middle game. 

My advice would be to buy a book on whatever openings you play and study up. The more you know about the ideas of the openings you play the better positions you will get.

not true in the slightest. Heres a little 'excercise' for you. Go into live chess, play a game using one of your openings, after the game consult your book. I doubt the game followed book past move 7..

Practicing tactics and ensuring you dont drop pieces should let you survive the middle game. Endgame study will let you outplay them in the endgame, assuming your superior tactics didnt trump them earlier.

Want to know your getting in trouble?

Well now of the previous posters told you anything that will help you here. Yeah i said it.

Your playing at chess.com and here all players have multiple references of  looking up openings they have no clue how to use. So even if they do not know the opening they look up it and get a general idea what might be the correct move while you bust your brain they sit back relaxed.

Now they are not allowed to use engines. But you can look it up in books and a database. Not sure the list of databases so better check with chess.com on which ones you use are allowed as i do not want you to get into trouble for unfair play. They can also google/bing them. Hey they can even read the public forums as there are tons of solutions that come from 1900+ rated players and titled players like IM titled players and a few NM titled players.

So study of any opening is ok but not enough if you play at chess.com. You better know how to analyze a situation and how to use your pieces to form a plan of attack. As you they say Tactics here. Well not every move you have a Tactic. So you have to most of time force something in order to get in position to use a Tactic! They forget there are moves in between tactics and that is the difference between a strong player and a weak player.

@FearItself So you are saying to know basically 1 move in the opening and just wing it from there. Maybe if you are just beginning chess this will work. Once you play in tournaments it's extremely important to know the ideas of the openings and to learn book variations. If your opponent doesn't follow the book and doesn't play the best line, you will know how to capitalize on his mistake. If you don't study any openings like you have suggested, you will be the one making positional errors in the opening. I am not saying to neglect tactics or endgame study, but openings are just as important.

Might I suggest you try some turn based games where the use of opening books are allowed?  Lets you do a little research on the opening, consult a database, maybe crack open FCO (Fundamental Chess Openings-probably the best 1 volume book around for explaining the ideas and typical plans behind openings), play through a few games,etc.  Tactics are of course the quickest way to increase your board vision and thus your skill level, but we're all a little curious about openings and learning typical plans can only help you.  Please note that I did NOT say to memorize umpteen variations, but knowing typical plans helps you to punish someone who is violating principles and gives you a better chance of getting into a middlegame where you can start to play chess.  As you can tell, I really like FCO....

if you are do not scare because if your oppenent puts e4 you put c5 because he next put nf3 or nc3 you put d6 then you can put kings indian defence then the game easy for you

if you are black if your oppenent puts d4 dont worry you put g6 then he d4 or c4 you put d6 or e6 then he put nf3 or nc3 you put nf6 and he put any move you put bg7 and cassling 

As long as they develop, castle and attempt to control the centre ala the basic opening principles they can wing it, probably to 1600 level, after that they may need up to move 5.

Openings are no where near as important as tactics and endgames. Firstly your opponent can deviate from opening theory you know at any moment, and often they do in the first 7 moves. Oh? you will exploit this?.
After somehting like ..b6 ..g6 ..a6 ..h6  you will probably get an advantage like 0.60+, now tell me...can YOU force a win with 6/10ths of a pawns worth of an advantage? i doubt it, i definately cant.

On the other hand there are always tactics, regardless of if its move 25 mainline sicilian or if its move 10 of a random opening, you will always be able to use them. Endgames also do not simply help you in one part of the game. Knowledge of the endgame will help you make better positional moves, not creating weaknesses or making bad trades.

If someone insists on doing openings, they shouldnt look past about move 7, if they reach move 7 and the variation they are playing DEMANDS accurate play, they should change variations.

if  you are black if your oppenent puts e4 and you dont put e5 because your oppenent have the advantage you do c5 and your oppenent put d4 dont put d5 you and put d6

If your opponent doen't follow the the book does not mean he made a mistake. I found that chess.com has almost an infinite about of opening with their variations. That is close to 1,000 lines of play. And no book can show you how to capitalize on the mistakes in an opening.

For the reason above they wrote books on how to use your pieces and they teach what to attack regardless what opening you play. By that standard it will take a life time to learn an opening. Better start that newborn with those audio on chess now.

Then what happens if they know your opening better than you so they will play flawless to the middle game. Your plan will not work. And for that reason they write books on forcing a weakness in your opponents camp if they do not make a mistake.

And the biggest reason why players at any level lose is because they did not correctly analyze why their opponent made the moves they make. Memorizing opening moves is exactly what it is. Playing opening moves means you have knowledge of the why to make that move. And in some cases your opening will not work as your opponent may be playing a superior variation of a defense so you have to transpose to another opening or get out of book.

@FearItself

Tactics you can figure out during the game. Opening plans and principles need to be memorized. If you know your opening better than your oppenent, you will be in a good position because he doesn't know the correct plan and you do. My teacher (a FM) always says that by knowing more about the opening than your oppenent, no matter who it is, you can have good winning chances. Those winning chances are then transferred into middle game and endgame skill and strategy, but first it is necessary to know the opening.

Yes it is.

Look at the way your mind works.  Time is valuable.  So look at learning of chess best suited for the brain.  Study openings, study checkmate patterns, play games, follow games.  Devote attention to each and set a goal for time focused on each activity, say 20 minutes.  Set a timer.  When the timer goes off, stop studying that activity.  Listen to what you are saying to yourself in terms of when you are studying which will affect what meaning you attribute to each positional pattern.

For openings, look at the pattern.  What type of game is it?  Does this type of game suit your personality?  What is your goal, to excel in one opening, or many?  What type of games do you like, positional, strategical, tactical?  When reviewing openings, do you look at each move and ask why it was made for both options, offense/defense, longterm/short term implications?  You should.

With all this, give it time.  For initial learning there is biochemical changes in the synapses, so to speak.  After time and repeated occurrence long term automation becomes possible.  You must train, then wait.  If you study too much there may be interference patterns amongst what you are learning.  It is good again to set a timer or find how long you can study for without losing focus and then sit the timer for that amount of time.  

Consider that the subconscious or unconscious is stronger than the conscious mind.  With correct choices and correct attributions(self talk) via the conscious mind, the unconscious will work out the solutions and you will see this in your games if you are diligent.

Tactical patterns must be memorised as well or you will miss them compleely.

The part ive quoted sounds good in theory, but the flaw with it is that you mus have the tactical prowess and positional and endgame knowledge to convert any advantage you may have gained from the opening. So until you are able to do this it is pointless studying to aquire these minute advantages.

studying openings is also studying tactics, strategy and endgames, so with only openings will suffice.

what

We are in a disagreement here, but I will agree with you on that. Raowl's comment made no sense haha