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

It's a new year, maybe it's time for some new gear? If you're a web developer just getting started this year, or looking to maximize your productivity with the latest gadgets, this week's episode has got you covered. We broke up our gear selections into three budgets including minimum, moderate, and max. Matt and Mike discussed gear ranging from budget refurbished laptops that can help you get started on your web development journey, to fancy sets that can accommodate not only web development but gaming and content creation as well. Our gear guide is sure to help anyone out there wondering what they need to get started coding up websites in 2024.
Thanks to this episode's sponsor Magic Mind. Use our link (https://www.magicmind.com/JANhtml) and promo code (HTML20) for up to 75% off in January 2024! After January? Our code is still good for up to 20% off!
Show Notes: https://www.htmlallthethings.com/podcasts/essential-gear-guide-for-web-developers-in-2024
Scrimba Discount: https://tinyurl.com/ScrimbaHATT

We've all heard of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript - the latter being used in both frontend and backend technologies. Despite the utility and versatility of JavaScript, other languages still exist and thrive off of large fanbases such as PHP and Python. Why is this? Isn't JavaScript enough? In this episode, Matt and Mike discussed programming languages that you might find useful as a web developer (or other developer for that matter) other than JavaScript. The duo covered the pros and cons of each of these other languages as they discussed which ones you may be interested in learning after mastering the art of JavaScript.
Show Notes: https://www.htmlallthethings.com/podcasts/is-javascript-enough
Scrimba Discount: https://tinyurl.com/ScrimbaHATT

Learn web development for free with learning resources from all over the web including courses, YouTube channels, and written guides. 
The holidays are in full swing with many people spending their newfound free time trying their hand at learning web development for the first time. Some are even planning to learn coding as their new year's resolution so they can try their hand at a new career. In this episode, Matt and Mike discussed a collection of free learning resources so that you can supercharge your learning without having to commit a small fortune to getting started.
Show Notes: https://www.htmlallthethings.com/podcasts/get-started-in-web-development-for-free
Scrimba Discount: https://tinyurl.com/ScrimbaHATT

AI tools have taken off over the past year touching almost every aspect of the internet, and web development is no exception. Chatbots like ChatGPT and Copilot (Bing Chat) can be used to help write code, troubleshoot, and learn web development in a way that is much more interactive than a traditional Google search. In this episode, Matt and Mike discussed how they use these AI tools in both their learnings and production work. The duo covered how to approach these new AI chatbots as they're something that is well beyond the commonplace assistants that we have today like Google Assistant, Alexa, and Siri. Learn how to add AI to your web development toolkit and get work done faster.
Thanks to this episode's sponsor Magic Mind. Use our link and promo code (HTML20) for up to 50% off! 
Scrimba Discount: https://tinyurl.com/ScrimbaHATT

There are a lot of courses and guides out there to help you start learning web development. Despite this abundance, it's unfortunately very easy to fall into a common learning pitfall, such as following a tutorial that's out-of-date, or taking a course that glosses over important parts of the process. In this episode, Matt and Mike discussed commonly learning pitfalls and how to avoid them. They also discussed how to go beyond courses to ensure you're learning as much as you can before landing a job.
Show Notes: https://www.htmlallthethings.com/podcasts/youre-learning-web-development-the-wrong-way
Scrimba Discount: https://tinyurl.com/ScrimbaHATT

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