HTML All The Things - Web Development, Web Design, Small Business

Rushed timelines and last-minute jobs are something that most developers are all too familiar with. While frequent rush jobs can signal deeper management issues, the fast-paced nature of the world means unexpected challenges often arise. In this episode, Matt and Mike explore strategies for developers to take charge when work needs to be completed quickly. They discuss how project leadership and effective decision-making can help prevent a rush job from turning into endless overtime. By taking ownership of the work order, setting realistic expectations, and cutting through bureaucratic red tape, developers can streamline communication with their teams to prioritize coding time and deliver results efficiently. Show Notes: https://www.htmlallthethings.com/podcasts/taking-control-in-a-rush Thanks to Magic Mind for sponsoring this episode, enjoy 20% off one-time purchases and subscription using our link and code (Link: https://magicmind.com/HTMLPOD20 Code: HTMLPOD20) Thanks to Wix Studio for sponsoring this episode! Check out Wix Studio, the web platform tailored to designers, developers, and marketers via this link: https://www.wix.com/studio

The WordPress drama between WPEngine and Matt Mullenweg has been quite the stir up for primarily WordPress, but also the open source community in general. Not to mention, all the WPEngine customers that are effectively collateral damage having their websites adversely affected, sometimes without even realizing what's happening. In this episode, Matt and Mike discussed the WordPress drama and touched on how it could affect open source projects moving forward. Is WordPress in the right? Is WPEngine? You decide... Disclaimer/Correction: A section of this episode states a misinterpretation of the GPL license. We've published a correction in the show notes under the "Disclaimer & Correction" section. Show Notes: https://www.htmlallthethings.com/podcasts/open-source-is-dead Thanks to Wix Studio for sponsoring this episode! Check out Wix Studio, the web platform tailored to designers, developers, and marketers via this link: https://www.wix.com/studio  

Side projects are often done as a for-fun and potentially for-profit outlet for web developers looking to break free from client projects where they have little control. Unfortunately, just like client projects, side projects can easily spiral out of scope to the point of developer exhaustion. In this episode, Matt and Mike explore how scope creep can derail personal projects, offering practical strategies to prevent it. They discuss defining a solid MVP, niching down to maintain focus, and prioritizing features using methods like the MoSCoW framework. By setting clear boundaries and establishing achievable milestones, developers can avoid common pitfalls and keep their side projects on track. Show Notes: https://www.htmlallthethings.com/podcasts/side-projects-the-eternal-loop-of-never-ending-features Thanks to Wix Studio for sponsoring this episode! Check out Wix Studio, the web platform tailored to designers, developers, and marketers via this link: https://www.wix.com/studio

In this episode Matt and MIke, continue their deep dive into the toughest concepts in web development. The guys tackle topics like mastering responsive design, ensuring web accessibility (a11y) for all users, and the complexities of server-side rendering (SSR), static site generation (SSG), and client-side rendering (CSR). They also explore the challenges of event-driven architectures, managing project dependencies efficiently, and setting up smooth CI/CD pipelines. Whether you're building scalable web applications or just want to level up your dev game, this episode has actionable insights to help you through some of web development's most intricate concepts. Show Notes: https://www.htmlallthethings.com/podcasts/the-toughest-concepts-in-web-development-part-2 Thanks to Magic Mind for sponsoring this episode, enjoy 40% off your subscription using our link and code (Link: https://magicmind.com/HTMLPOD40  Code: HTMLPOD40) This offer is only available for the first 10 people that use the link and code!! Thanks to Wix Studio for sponsoring this episode! Check out Wix Studio, the web platform tailored to designers, developers, and marketers via this link: https://www.wix.com/studio

The challenges of web development are immense! Topics like asynchronous programming and state management take center stage. Security vulnerabilities such as XSS and SQL Injection are crucial concerns. Performance optimization and scalability are also discussed, highlighting the delicate balance between quality and loading speed. Plus, the episode dives into the trials of ensuring cross-browser compatibility, illustrated by a custom podcast player that stumbles on Safari. It's a deep dive into the technical mazes developers navigate daily!

Shashi Lo, a senior software engineer at Microsoft and founder of Gridiron Survivor, shares insights on mentoring junior developers through hands-on experience. He discusses the importance of understanding corporate coding standards and the value of feedback in the tech industry. The conversation highlights innovative apprenticeship programs that support learners transitioning from boot camps to real-world projects. Shashi also emphasizes the role of open-source contributions and navigating career paths while leveraging AI tools wisely.

While trying to solve a coding problem this week, Matt found himself buried in a collection of solutions offered by ChatGPT and Google search results. Some of the solutions were completely new to him and so he got to thinking about how "safe" it would be to implement them. Not from a security perspective, as there wasn't any private data involved in this particular case, but his concern was more for the page UX itself. How efficient were the solutions he was about to implement, would it slow the web page down? Were these new topics even being used in the correct context and being implemented appropriately? In this episode, Matt and Mike discussed how to think through problems like this in terms of project architecture, website performance, and troubleshooting/research time spent. Show Notes: https://www.htmlallthethings.com/podcasts/is-your-code-too-complex-troubleshooting-fixing-and-implementing-solutions Thanks to Magic Mind for sponsoring this episode, enjoy 20% off one-time purchases and subscription using our link and code (Link: https://magicmind.com/HTMLPOD20 Code: HTMLPOD20) Thanks to Wix Studio for sponsoring this episode! Check out Wix Studio, the web platform tailored to designers, developers, and marketers via this link: https://www.wix.com/studio

There is a lot of tech out there! It seems every day someone is coming out with a new way to edit images, use AI, build websites, assist developers, and the list goes on and on. This week, Matt and Mike decided to zoom in and discuss some of the tech that they enjoy using at the moment including Svelte/SvelteKit, TailwindCSS, Supermaven, and much more! The technologies that web developers change all the time - and not always obvious things like frameworks and plugins, but also more logistical elements of the job like where to host, compress images, etc. What are you using in your projects?   Show Notes: https://www.htmlallthethings.com/podcasts/tech-we-love-as-web-developers-sveltekit-vercel-supermaven-and-more   Thanks to Wix Studio for sponsoring this episode! Check out Wix Studio, the web platform tailored to designers, developers, and marketers via this link: https://www.wix.com/studio

Scope creep is a very dangerous thing that can endanger a team's productivity and mental health. It involves taking the original scope of a project, and slowly but surely, adding more and more tasks to it. Often times scope creep is not done nefariously, as those that request tasks from developers are ignorant of the technical complexities of their requests. Unfortunately, there are those that will add to a project's scope willingly to take advantage of their employees, or there may be some mismanagement within the company that leads to additional work in a short period of time. In this episode, Matt and Mike discussed the who, what, where, when, and why of pushing back against customer requests in order to keep projects in-scope. They discussed the importance of pushing back sometimes, when to push back, and whether it's appropriate to push back when acting as a freelance contractor. Show Notes: https://www.htmlallthethings.com/podcasts/saying-no-to-scope-creep-how-web-devs-can-push-back Thanks to Magic Mind for sponsoring this episode, enjoy 20% off one-time purchases and subscription using our link and code (Link: https://magicmind.com/HTMLPOD20 Code: HTMLPOD20) Thanks to Wix Studio for sponsoring this episode! Check out Wix Studio, the web platform tailored to designers, developers, and marketers via this link: https://www.wix.com/studio

Code quality matters! When developers write better, cleaner, and safer code - their deliverables improve significantly. When code is safer, there are less problems with crashes and unintended errors. When code is cleaner, team members find it easier to read, peer review, and add on to down the line. Improving the quality of your code is easier said than done, however, as it takes more than just "getting good" at coding. In this episode, Matt and Mike discussed the importance of and how to improve your code quality by keeping coding styles consistent with your team, refactoring, writing good tests, using prettier formatting, and linting. Show Notes: https://www.htmlallthethings.com/podcasts/why-code-quality-matters-testing-linting-refactoring Thanks to Wix Studio for sponsoring this episode! Check out Wix Studio, the web platform tailored to designers, developers, and marketers via this link: https://www.wix.com/studio