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

Web developers have a lot of tools to build websites with, but this vast selection opens the door for needless complexities. Needless complexities weigh projects down and can make troubleshooting problems a nightmare. Unforeseen issues arising from tangled webs of WordPress plugins, third-party services updating their endpoints unexpectedly, and installed-yet-forgotten features have taken down more websites than we can count. In this episode, Matt and Mike discussed how and why you should avoid needless complexities in your projects and why some complexities are necessary evils.
Show Notes: https://www.htmlallthethings.com/podcasts/make-web-development-easy-avoid-needless-complexities
Scrimba Discount: https://tinyurl.com/ScrimbaHATT

AI has been taking the tech world by storm for the past year or so as new chatbots and tools are created seemingly every day. These tools can help revolutionize the every day workflow for a web developer and Mike has been embracing these changes with open arms. In this episode Matt and Mike discussed this "AI revolution" and how Mike uses these new tools to compliment and enhance his every day tasks on the job. The guys also discussed the massive shake up that OpenAI had with their CEO Sam Altman being fired then potentially landing a position at Microsoft. Please note this OpenAI news is developing quickly so our comments may be out of date by the time this episode is published- original recording date can be found in the show notes for context.
Show Notes: https://www.htmlallthethings.com/podcasts/learn-to-use-ai-to-become-a-better-web-developer
Scrimba Discount: https://tinyurl.com/ScrimbaHATT

Are web developers required to do too much? Websites and web apps are getting more complex as some startups rely on web developers to deliver critical company infrastructure, marketing sites, and ecommerce stores. The problem with all these responsibilities is that the knowledge base for web developers has grown exponentially over the past decade, making it a struggle to keep up for existing developers and increasingly difficult for aspiring devs to break into the field. In this episode, Matt and Mike discussed Matt's recent critique of the learning journey that web developers need to embark on to get job ready due to the vast amount of skills that are needed in the field.
Show Notes: https://www.htmlallthethings.com/podcasts/are-we-expecting-too-much-from-our-web-developers
Scrimba Discount: https://tinyurl.com/ScrimbaHATT

When you deploy a website how long do you think it'll last before it needs some maintenance, or a design refresh? Will it keep running as long as the hosting bill is paid? This week, Matt and Mike discussed the longevity of a website and whether or not its realistic to assume that they'll run forever - eternally, if you will. Even though they're pieces of software, websites are susceptible to problems that require maintenance, and some websites need regular preventative maintenance to keep things running smoothly. Not to mention the need, or rather want, for design refreshes in order to keep up with the modern standard and competing websites. When clients ask for a website, but don't think they'll need to maintain it after deployment, are they running themselves into a risky situation? How do we keep website maintenance budget friendly?
Show Notes - https://www.htmlallthethings.com/podcasts/are-websites-eternal-the-longevity-of-a-website
Scrimba Discount: https://tinyurl.com/ScrimbaHATT

Out of all the developer productivity tips, enhancing your focus is probably the most important because it can increase your work output, helps keeps you motivated, and can improve your quality of code. In this episode Matt and Mike discussed why focus and concentration is so important to developers and what you can do to help improve it through practice and habit forming.
Show Notes: https://www.htmlallthethings.com/podcasts/why-improving-your-focus-will-make-you-a-better-web-developer
Scrimba Discount: https://tinyurl.com/ScrimbaHATT

Learning web development is difficult, even if you're already familiar with it and just looking to update your skills. In this episode, Matt and Mike discuss Matt's continued learning journey as he works towards understanding modern full-stack development through Svelte and SvelteKit. This time, Matt has taken a step back from his original project, a passive income tracker, and instead decided to change his approach. Instead of learning full-stack development, struggling through creating and deploying a web app, instead he's decided to break it up into three smaller projects. The first of which will be a modified to-do/grocery list app that will just be using Svelte. Followed by another project focused on backend technologies with SvelteKit. Finally, he'll return to his passive income tracker idea with all he's learned for the grand finale. With this new approach, Matt hopes that he'll retain more information and have a better understand of all the topics he covers, rather than struggling through each and every step of the passive income tracker.
Show Notes: https://www.htmlallthethings.com/podcasts/3-web-development-projects-full-stack-struggles-3
Scrimba Discount: https://tinyurl.com/ScrimbaHATT

In this episode, Matt and Mike discussed a collection of web development topics including git in school, what makes a good code review, and the return of PHP. Git for version control is a major part of most web developers' toolkits although there seems to be a lack of git training in schools, the place where learning git basics could help future graduates' resumes look a bit more favorable. Code reviews are commonplace in web development teams, but they're not all cut from the same cloth - what makes a code review good? PHP has been called dead by many web developers (even though WordPress uses PHP and is a major contributor to content on the web), but lately it seems like people are talking about it...is PHP back?
Show Notes: https://www.htmlallthethings.com/podcasts/git-in-school-good-code-reviews-is-php-back
Scrimba Discount: https://tinyurl.com/ScrimbaHATT

You can't get a job without experience and you can't get experience without a job - a classic problem for many beginners across several industries. This problem also plagues web developers as junior devs are left handing out hundreds of applications sometimes failing to get an interview let alone a job. For some, the opportunity to work for free will come up as a low barrier to entry to get some experience, but this move is controversial. Not only are you missing out on money, but you're also providing value to someone else's business for free. Working for free with nothing but experience is nothing new though, as unpaid internships are apart of some college and university programs across many different degrees. In this episode, Matt and Mike discussed whether a junior developer should work for free to get work experience, or if they should wait until a paid opportunity arrives.
Show Notes: https://www.htmlallthethings.com/podcasts/should-a-junior-developer-work-for-free-to-get-experience
Scrimba Discount: https://tinyurl.com/ScrimbaHATT
 

When you take your first job as a junior developer you may be nervous about what type of tasks you'll be assigned and the expected quality level of your deliverables. In this episode, Matt and Mike discussed some of the types of tasks that you may be assigned as a junior developer. They walk through how and what a manager may ask you to do, and how much detail you're likely to receive before getting started. These tasks range from simple tests of your UI layout skills, through your ability to pull in information from an API and display it appropriately on the site. Every workplace is different and so Matt and Mike also covered some of the common struggles that junior developers may face in their new role including legacy codebases, lack of mentorship, and a toxic work environment.
Show Notes: https://www.htmlallthethings.com/podcasts/what-id-expect-from-a-junior-developer
Scrimba Discount: https://tinyurl.com/ScrimbaHATT

Documentation helps web developers navigate CSS frameworks, WordPress plugins, and helpful npm packages. Without it, we're left doing trial-and-error for hours, or left to community support from potentially dated forums. When documentation is bad, it can cost the documentation owner customers and trust from the community, but when it's good, it can save developers time and drive trust in the product. In this episode, Matt and Mike discussed the price of bad documentation and what makes documentation good from the perspective of a web developer.
Show Notes: https://www.htmlallthethings.com/podcasts/the-cost-of-bad-documentation-and-how-to-fix-it
Scrimba Discount: https://tinyurl.com/ScrimbaHATT