HTML All The Things - Web Development, AI, and Developer Careers

In this interview episode, Matt and Mike sat down with Bob Ziroll the head of education for Scrimba to discuss all things React, escaping your comfort zone, teaching courses, and much more! Bob Ziroll is known for his React courses on both Scrimba and freeCodeCamp, he also anticipates starting a YouTube channel sometime soon. Show Notes: www.htmlallthethings.com/podcasts/teaching-you-how-to-react-w-bob-ziroll

CSS animations are somewhat of an advanced CSS topic that many people skip out on when they're developing their site's MVP, or first few versions. Further into its life though, CSS animations (and transitions for that matter) add a level of polish to a website that can subtly bring about a premium feel for its UI/UX. It's quite easy, however, to go overboard with animations and transitions to the point where they feel out of place, sometimes looking like they're just being done for the sake of another animation instead of complimenting the content on the page. This week, Matt and Mike discussed CSS animations and CSS transitions, discussing the good, bad, and the ugly when it comes to using them on your next project. Show Notes: www.htmlallthethings.com/podcasts/css-animations-can-make-or-break-a-site

The advanced technical nature of web development coupled with what seems like a completely new dictionary to memorize can easily overwhelm junior developers before they've completed their learning journey. There is a lot of technical jargon and technical terms that must be understood to read documentation and hold a conversation with developer colleagues. These terms include things like data structures, algorithms, syntax, and much more. This week, Matt and Mike try and help simplify these terms into easy-to-understand definitions, so you don't get bogged down in memorization. Show Notes: www.htmlallthethings.com/podcasts/junior-developers-guide-to-confusing-terms

CSS is a crucial skill for frontend developers to learn and eventually master, but it's flanked by other tools that many employers demand skills in. Bootstrap, TailwindCSS, and SASS are all tools that assist in the development of user interfaces, by augmenting and expanding what vanilla CSS already offers. With this in mind, it's easy for a junior developer to start questioning when to move their learning journey on from vanilla CSS to something that an employer may have interest in. Many times this question can result in analysis paralysis and over a long period of time, may result in CSS tutorial hell. This week, Matt and Mike discuss this transition from learning vanilla CSS to learning the next step that applies to your goals. Show Notes: www.htmlallthethings.com/podcasts/youve-learned-enough-css-heres-whats-next

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. Show Notes: www.htmlallthethings.com/podcasts/javascript-fundamentals-you-need-to-know-before-learning-react

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. Show Notes: www.htmlallthethings.com/podcasts/if-you-cant-code-dont-use-wordpress

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! Show Notes: www.htmlallthethings.com/podcasts/css-attribute-selectors-custom-attributes

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. Show Notes: www.htmlallthethings.com/podcasts/the-scariest-web-development-tech

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? Show Notes: www.htmlallthethings.com/podcasts/does-anyone-use-vanilla-css-anymore

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. Show Notes: www.htmlallthethings.com/podcasts/full-stack-development-has-changed-in-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. Show Notes: www.htmlallthethings.com/podcasts/can-i-use-this-in-production

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. Show Notes: www.htmlallthethings.com/podcasts/svelte-vs-react-what-you-need-to-know

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. Show Notes: www.htmlallthethings.com/podcasts/css-selectors-crash-course

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) 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. Written Guide: CSS Variables – What Are They & How to Use Them | HTML All The Things Show Notes: www.htmlallthethings.com/podcasts/css-variables-what-are-they-how-to-use-them

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. Show Notes: The Transitional Web w/ Chris Ferdinandi | HTML All The Things Podcast

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 skills they picked up from previous non-developer jobs and how they helped them in web development. Even when working in a kitchen, a factory, or an unrelated tech job - there are some skills that you can't learn anywhere else and yet still transfer over to web development.

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.

Welcome back to the HTML All The Things Podcast your web development, web design, and small business headquarters. This week, Matt discussed how to deal with customer budgets that didn't quite reach the amount you were hoping for. Maintaining a fair deal for both the developer and client is important and if implemented correctly there are a few methods in which you can stretch the customer's budget without needing to undervalue your work. These methods include various types of negotiation, breaking a project into separate phases, and cutting superfluous features. As a final note, Matt also discusses avoiding financial abuse from customers that would take advantage of you, and how to ensure you get paid what you're worth.

Welcome back to the HTML All The Things Podcast your web development, web design, and small business headquarters. This week, Matt and Mike discussed the difficult decision on whether you should use a no-code platform or code up a custom solution. The duo go over the differences between custom code and no-code, comparing project types and where they'd create these projects.

Welcome back to the HTML All The Things Podcast your web development, web design, and small business headquarters. This week, Matt and Mike discussed the importance of version control focusing on one of the most popular (if not most popular) version control systems, Git. The duo debated when to learn version control in your coding journey and discussed how difficult it is to learn in comparison to the coding language of your choice.

Welcome back to the HTML All The Things Podcast your web development, web design, and small business headquarters. This week, Matt and Mike discussed different ways to learn web development including traditional school (college, university), online courses (free & paid), and the "tackle method." The guys discuss who is best suited for these different methods and debate the importance of project-based learning for absolute beginners.

Welcome back to the HTML All The Things Podcast your web development, web design, and small business headquarters. This week, Matt and Mike discussed whether vanilla JavaScript is viable on modern projects. Vanilla JavaScript is of course the language that the browser understands, but with the increasing complexity in many of today's web development projects, frameworks like React, Vue, and Svelte have seemingly taken over as the tools of choice for web developers. Should you use a framework, or should you use vanilla JavaScript?

Welcome back to the HTML All The Things Podcast your web development, web design, and small business headquarters. This week, Matt and Mike discussed different ways to start a new web development project covering the differences between starting a completely new project with no prior version to worry about, versus updating/upgrading an old project with a variable amount of technical debt.

Welcome back to the HTML All The Things Podcast your web development, web design, and small business headquarters. This week, Matt and Mike answered a collection of questions regarding web design and web developers. If you're a developer, you might experience some imposter syndrome, or skill gaps, when you try and complete an entire project yourself (or with a small team). Often, the issues come from a lack of design skills, or a lack of confidence in your design ability.

This week we're doing our first-ever feed swap with LogRocket's podcast, PodRocket. This episode features a conversation with Jenn Creighton, a Senior Software Engineer at Netflix and podcast host of the show single-threaded: a software developer podcast. Topics explored in this episode include debugging, error handling, and Jenn's recent conference talk at React Miami.

Welcome back to the HTML All The Things Podcast your web development, web design, and small business headquarters. This week, Matt and Mike discussed the very real possibility that we all face, which is of course the dreaded layoff. Even if the market is doing well, you can be laid off suddenly due to business issues, which means you should prepare yourself even if your employment is going well.

Welcome back to the HTML All The Things Podcast your web development, web design, and small business headquarters. This week, Matt and Mike discussed the importance (or lack thereof) of website performance. We all know that Google PageSpeed Insights are used frequently across the industry, but are all those changes necessary? Should you spend time optimizing things that only change your load time by a second or two?

Welcome back to the HTML All The Things Podcast your web development, web design, and small business headquarters. This week, Matt and Mike discussed using code to enhance your no-code projects. There are a lot of people out there that use no-code tools to run a side hustle, providing clients with websites built on tools like WordPress and Webflow. Sometimes these clients want more than what a no-code tool can provide, leaving you mostly out of luck, unless you learn some coding.

Get back to basics with our first episode re-release. This week due to Mike being out sick and Matt being on vacation, the duo have decided to shine a spotlight on one of their most popular episodes that take us all back to the very basics of web development. Back to vanilla HTML, CSS, and JS - some of the most useful skills to have when making small websites or transitioning between different frameworks and technologies.

Welcome back to the HTML All The Things Podcast your web development, web design, and small business headquarters. This week, Matt and Mike discussed what starting a new job in tech is like. Since many tech jobs deal with large teams and complex projects, there is a lot of onboarding that needs to happen to get you set up as a new team member. This includes things like getting access to git repos, your email address, and more. In addition to project management to-dos like understanding the team's organizational structure like SCRUM, when they do their standups, how sprints are scheduled, and so on.

This week marks the release of our 200th full episode. We've had additional releases in the form of the limited Before the Show, Tidbits, and standalone Web News - but as of today we've had 200 mainline podcast episodes released to all of you! I hope you've enjoyed the show so far, and I thank you for listening so far. We have so much planned, and we're so excited for the future!

Welcome back to the HTML All The Things Podcast your web development, web design, and small business headquarters. This week, Matt and Mike discussed the state of the web development industry with a focus on how no-code is influencing the industry at large. No-code tools are getting more complex by the day, to the point where web developers cannot ignore them anymore. The duo believes that web developers should be using no-code platforms as a tool in their arsenal to help deliver websites and web apps to customers at the right price, as quickly as possible. Matt's Note: This is our 200th episode, so I'd like to thank everyone for listening for these past few years. We hope to hit many more milestones like this in the future!

Welcome back to the HTML All The Things Podcast your web development, web design, and small business headquarters. This week, Matt and Mike discussed how to think like a programmer. When you're learning to code you may think that syntax is the most important thing since it is so hard to memorize. The problem with memorizing syntax is that if you ever need to move on to a new programming language, you'll have to start memorizing all over again. Instead, Matt and Mike believe that learning programming concepts is more important than syntax, as they allow you to apply that conceptual knowledge across any language you come across - it lets you problem solve as a programmer.

Welcome back to the HTML All The Things Podcast your web development, web design, and small business headquarters. This week, Matt and Mike discussed serverless technology and how it challenges server-based hosting that has been the standard for years. Mike believes that this has revolutionized the backend developer and hosting game, while Matt is new to serverless and is still stuck configuring his servers the way he always has. Show notes You can find us on... Facebook | Twitter | Instagram RSS | Patreon | Spotify Medium | YouTube | GitHub

Welcome back to the HTML All The Things Podcast your web development, web design, and small business headquarters. This week, Matt and Mike discussed developer burnout, how it starts, and how to prevent it. Developer burnout can affect anyone and manifest itself in a variety of ways. It is not limited to those of us that frequently work long hours or have significant daily stress (although those are potential causes), it can affect those of us that simply dislike our jobs or have been doing the same tasks for too long.

Welcome back to the HTML All The Things Podcast your web development, web design, and small business headquarters. This week, Matt and Mike discussed sharing information with clients diving into how much you should share and how much you should keep secret to keep the project on track. It's easy to overshare with a client, overwhelming them with too many details and technical intricacies, but on the other hand, it's also easy to give them too little information, risking them misunderstanding what it is they ordered from you.

Welcome to the HTML All The Things Podcast, your one-stop shop for all things web development, web design, and small business. This week, Mike and Matt sat down to discuss how good habits can make developers more productive. The duo go over how habits are not a one size fits all situation, but instead should be tailored to each individual that is looking to boost their productivity - whether that's simply setting up a meal plan, choosing to cut off your work hours at a certain time, or just getting to bed the same time each day - we are all different, and so not every habit is best suited for our unique needs. You can find us on... Facebook | Twitter | Instagram RSS | Patreon | Spotify Medium | YouTube | GitHub