Do you know enough JavaScript to move onto something else like React, or Svelte? How do you know if you'll be ready? This week, Matt and Mike discuss the vanilla JavaScript fundamentals you need to know before learning new tooling like React, or Svelte. We hope that this episode helps clear the air for any junior developers wondering if they should start the next step of their JavaScript learning journey, or if they still have more vanilla JS to learn.
The popularity of WordPress partly comes from its ability to transform into virtually any website creation tool you need. From a membership site managing tool, to an inventory control system with ecommerce, the WordPress plugin offerings seem to be able to make anything happen - with low, to no-code. This is, however, as long as everything keeps working the way it should. With critical errors like the WordPress white screen of death threatening websites at almost every turn, we discuss why knowing how to code (or at least manage hosting files) is a critical skill that many WordPress users don't realize they need...until it's too late.
Tech layoffs are in full swing right now, with companies shrinking their teams for a variety of reasons. This is a stark contrast to the hiring spree that we experienced and grew used to during the chaos that was the COVID-19 pandemic. Does this mean that junior developers should pack up and find work elsewhere? Should people that are still learning web development leave the field entirely?
The most popular social media & video sharing websites out there now support (or are centered around) vertical video in the form of short-form content that commonly comes in under a minute in length. As the popularity of these short-form videos has taken off in recent years, we've seen this form factor escape smartphones, arriving on desktop computers and TVs. Unfortunately, this presents designers with a perplexing problem as vertical video (portrait aspect ratio) is not ideal for screens that are almost always landscape (widescreen). In this episode, Matt and Mike discuss the rise of vertical video (short-form content), discussing & debating on how it is shaping our user interfaces, and how it could even start shaping the hardware we use in the home.
CSS attribute selectors are a lot more powerful than I thought! I wasn't aware that they could not only select elements based on the presence of an attribute, or the presence of an attribute with a specific value, but that they could also "filter" through that attribute value by placing specific parameters on them using just CSS. In this episode, Matt and Mike discuss these "advanced attribute selectors" and cap the episode off by discussing another powerful CSS feature - custom attributes, done the right way!
We all have holes in our knowledge that lurk...just around the corner...lying in wait to pounce and completely destroy our confidence and workflow! This scary truth falls into virtually every corner of web development from WordPress devs that have zero experience with PHP, to frontend developers that have no idea what a web server is. This week Matt and Mike discuss some of the web dev technologies that can scare even the most seasoned developer.
There are a lot of ways to write CSS either directly or indirectly. By using tools like SASS, Bootstrap, TailwindCSS, and many more - you're largely avoiding vanilla CSS, replacing it with a new syntax, or maybe a website building library to make your workflow more efficient. But where does this leave vanilla CSS? Does anyone write just vanilla CSS anymore? And if so....why?
Full-stack development demands both frontend and backend development skills, meaning one individual can spin up a website from the hosting, through the database management, and even the user interface. Recently, some people in the developer community have voiced their observations on how complex both frontend and backend development are on their own, stating that it's not really possible to be a full-stack developer if you want to maintain a high level of skill in all the technologies involved. In this episode, Mike breaks down a stack that he has recently started using that should allow him to provide a full-stack's worth of work through 2023.
Browsers and web development tools are constantly evolving their support for new features. This forever changing landscape of our industry can lead many developers to ask whether they can use whatever they're using in production websites, or if they should stick to older methods that are more tried and true. In this episode, Matt and Mike discussed how to choose production-ready technologies based on the type of project you're working on.
Svelte and React are two frontend JavaScript frameworks that, through their immense popularity, draw a lot of debate and questions from the web development community. For established developers, the question looms as to which one you should use and for what reason. Junior developers are left asking what the differences are and which one they should learn first, or if they even need to learn both at all. Today on the podcast, Matt and Mike discuss the differences between Svelte and React, pitting them against each other to debate their usefulness, best features, and which one you might want to use for your latest project.
CSS selectors are a fundamental piece of CSS that allow it to select HTML elements based on a collection of parameters that the developer has set. CSS selectors can be used to select elements by type, class, ID, and can be written in a more complex way with the use of combinators. This week we discuss CSS selectors in great detail, covering their syntax, popular use cases, and clearing up (hopefully) some confusing bits that junior developers may struggle with.
This week Mike discussed his experimentation with ChatGPT and other AI services, like GitHub Copilot. ChatGPT, Lensa, and other AI have been taking the internet by storm recently, whether it be through cool looking profile pictures, or the controversial ways they operate. In this episode we discussed things like how fast AI has advanced in such a short period of time, the opportunities innovators have to make their mark on the industry, and whether or not something like Copilot will take away your programming job.
Deadlines can be difficult for developers to hit due to the complexity and scope creep that happens to most modern web development projects. We've experienced our fair share of quickly approaching deadlines over the years and have learned a collection of time saving methods that we'll be discussing in this episode. Methods like not oversharing with your client - so they don't constantly contact you about every little thing, and doing projects with the tool that makes the most sense - to avoid pigeonholing your toolset based on preference, and more!
Developer relations (aka DevRel, dev rel) is a newer position that many companies are starting to add to their teams. It's a popular topic among the tech Twitter community and can be a little confusing for those that aren't fully in the loop. So we brought on an expert on the topic, Raza (@razacodes) to explain exactly what a developer relations role is and how you could try your hand at it yourself.
CSS variables are a powerful vanilla CSS feature that you need to start using on your next project. You don't need any frameworks, plugins, or other tooling to get started. When used correctly, they can be a huge boost to your project's organizing and productivity - helping keep things readable and easily maintained. This week Matt & Mike discussed what CSS variables are and how to get started using them in your next project.
This week we sat down with Chris Ferdinandi to discuss why he thinks the web is in a state of transition, moving away from bloated frameworks and other tooling, towards the use of more "vanilla" or "native" platform features. This less bloated web is where Chris believes we are already transitioning towards, with the hopes that it makes websites and web apps more efficient.
Web development has a lot of dos and donts, so today we decided to focus on what NOT to do in web development. Things that all of us have done, like pushing confidential credentials to a public git repo, through client interactions like undervaluing your work. And don't forget, the classic "don't deploy on Friday" which Matt thinks Mike should do anyway, for his upcoming film.
Your first job as a junior developer can be nerve wracking. Not only are you new to coding, but you're also new to the organizational systems that your office has. This week we try and alleviate some of that anxiety by discussing the onboarding process commonly used for junior developers, including the difference between working solo versus a team, as well as a day in the life of a developer.
Raising your prices as a freelancer, or web dev agency can be a challenging process. You have to weigh the possibility that some of your existing customers may leave for cheaper options, while trying to convince new customers that your pricing is worth it. This week we discuss how to raise your prices and how to justify them with the value your customer will receive from all the work you do.
Are you a good developer? It's a question that all of us have asked ourselves countless times during our career. It usually happens when we're at our lowest, when a site runs into trouble, and you have no idea what's going on. Sometimes when you're trying to learn something new, and you just can't figure it out. If you were a better developer, would you have these problems? Are you a good developer?
Dynamic content on a website is content that changes over time, based on the user's preferences, or other parameters. One of the most common examples of dynamic content is a blog, where the content changes all the time as writers submit new articles and ad banners flip through new ads based on your unique browsing history. Powered by various CMS, these dynamic websites are something that almost every web developer will work with and create in their career.
CSS pseudo-classes expand its capabilities into a tool that can style web pages using advanced sets of parameters, without the need for JavaScript. In this episode, we'll be looking into the :has(), :is(), and :not() pseudo-classes. We'll explore interesting use cases, using them together, how they work, and whether they're ready to be used in a production project.
Hacktoberfest 2022 is upon us, the annual open-source centric event that rewards those that contribute during the month of October. This year coders, bloggers, video producers, podcasters, and more can contribute their works to participating repos on GitHub and GitLab. In this episode, Matt and Mike discuss what Hacktoberfest is, and why you should contribute if you can.
Welcome back to the HTML All The Things Podcast your web development, web design, and small business headquarters. This week Mike and Matt discussed the many use cases for JavaScript. Over the past several years, JavaScript has been steadily exploding in popularity, with an appropriate number of frameworks and tooling being released alongside all the interest. With that though, is there anything that JavaScript can't do? What about what it excels at?
Welcome back to the HTML All The Things Podcast your web development, web design, and small business headquarters. This week Mike and Matt discussed workplace communications including the importance of communication, some tips on being a better communicator, and of course some funny communication stories from past workplace experiences.
