Web Development × Engineering Management × Philosophy
Articles and books on the craft of web development (with a focus on HTML/CSS optimization and maintainability), engineering management, and philosophy.
HTML Minifier Next (a Maintained Fork of HTML Minifier)
On providing an alternative version of HTML Minifier, critical web tooling that cannot remain unmaintained.
#690 · · development, html, optimization, minimalism
What Counter-Strike Taught Me About A__holes
Sometimes, being who you are requires being who you are not.
How to Identify Your Unknown Unknowns in Web Development
You know your knowns, you know some unknowns, but what do you do about your unknown unknowns? On two resources that help.
#688 · · development
German Holocaust Remembrance Culture Is Dead Inside
We do not stop genocides by cherry-picking which ones to regret.
Website Optimization Measures, Part XXXII
On “internal server error” pages, Eleventy configs and passthroughs, content security policy hardening and sorting, Apple store links, and link checking and trimming.
#686 · · development, optimization
My War, Genocide, and Misanthropy Policy
If our countries don’t take meaningful action to put an end to large-scale crimes, it doesn’t mean we have to just watch.
CSS: The Pain Is Real
With presentational HTML, it’s impossible to do a CSS-only redesign. With strict separation of concerns, it’s incredibly rare to observe a CSS-only redesign. On a not-frequently-made observation around maintainability, which is to make changes more predictable.
#684 · · development, css, maintainability
This Is My Child
It should not be alive and well only because his parents are white people living in a European democracy not governed by fascists.
Speed, Cost, Quality, Choose 2 = Pragmatism, Passion, or Perfectionism
Whenever presented to choose two of speed, cost, or quality, do you tend to have the same preferences? It may be because that choice translates to certain values.
#682 · · management, quality
Ethics: On the Suspicion That Utilitarianism Is Failing Us
Utilitarianism isn’t inclusive. Focusing on responsibility, as one option, helps us better connect with everyone around us.
#681 · · philosophy
Lifeform User Story
On sentient beings of all species being dominated and their habitats destroyed.
Another Look at Productivity and How to Influence It: Ability, Attitude, Tooling
We cannot control all the factors, but it seems particularly instructive to dissect those that contribute to output.
#679 · · management
The Magic of the Most Minimal HTML Possible (and Why We Don’t Make Use of It)
On challenging XHTML–HTML and regular redos, by looking at HTML–HTML, full separation of concerns, and iterations.
#678 · · development, html, minimalism, conformance, maintainability
The Problems With Being an Influencer With Millions of Followers
When you have 99 problems—and you’re not unhappy that being an influencer isn’t one of them.
#677 · · misc, philosophy
10 Things I Learned Applying to 200 Positions in 1 Year
One of many stories about a tech market undergoing transformation. (If you’re out there on the market, don’t lose sight of your strengths. You are awesome.)
#676 · · misc
How Often Should We Speak About HTML Conformance?
Our field ships erroneous and fantasy HTML, all the time. When we analyze how often we talk about valid HTML, we obtain varying data. Let’s review what’s going on.
#675 · · development, html, conformance
Website Optimization Measures, Part XXXI
Qodana! html-minifier-terser! Privacy! Git! Automation! Eleventy! GitHub Actions! Cron jobs! Migrations! Maintenance has no limits.
#674 · · development, optimization
Ethics in Tech: On an Issue Particularly Sensitive to Germans
When it’s about learning from your country’s crimes.
#673 · · misc
Web Development Has a Short-Term Memory
Our field generally likes DRY code, but that doesn’t apply to what we’re writing about.
#672 · · development
Jens Oliver Meiert: How WebStorm and AI Assistant Fit Right Into My Workflow
#671 · · interviews, development
Connection to the Environment
On that feeling of being one with everyone and everything that we’re all experiencing.
#670 · · misc
Eleventy: A GitHub Workflow to Check if an Automated Dependency Update Would Break Your Site
A little safety measure to prevent updates to package.json, package-lock.json, and .nvmrc (or similar) from causing a hiccup.
#669 · · development
How I Run Eleventy (It’s Complicated?)
Aliases, debug mode, non-versioned builds as part of a centralized, versioned site exports repo—and the thinking behind it all.
#668 · · development
5 Ways to Reduce HTML File Size on Your Website, Step 0
The journey begins with an unpopular step.
#667 · · development, html, performance, minimalism, optimization
Empathy
Lack of empathy is not a sign of strength, but a liability for all of us.
#666 · · misc
New Book: Tara (A Utopia)
A human-inspired, AI-generated, human-edited story about refusing to live in a dystopia—and transforming the world instead.
Micro-Scrum
Decide on one thing to ship, then ship (or learn).
#664 · · management
Markup Languages
Just something to remember HDML, DHTML, WML, and cHTML.
#663 · · development
Where to Put a Mouse or Trackpad
On a setup that is standard on notebooks but that seems unpopular on desktops.
#662 · · misc
Where Frontend Dogma Gets Its News From
On sources for news and views that approach 4,000 items per year.
#661 · · development
Utilization
Why don’t we talk more about queueing theory.
#660 · · management
Prisoner’s Dilemma
On “tit for tat” with about 10% more forgiveness.
#659 · · philosophy, misc
Forwarding Appreciated: A WhatsApp [and Signal and LinkedIn] Link Sharing Bug That Cannot Be Reported
There’s an issue with WhatsApp link sharing that cannot be brought to WhatsApp’s attention. If you know someone at WhatsApp, please help (support appreciated with Signal and LinkedIn, too).
#658 · · development
A Moratorium on Men Making Major Decisions
On the many news you’ve read today about a woman or a non-binary person invading another country, driving into a crowd, firing workers to maximize profits, raising taxes for low-income people, denying help, cutting benefits, beating someone up, setting a homeless person on fire, raping someone, making the life of a minority hell, endorsing or escalating a genocide, slashing education funding, or doing other WTF.
DeepSeek and HTML
“What is the most minimal valid HTML document?”, DeepSeek-R1 edition.
#656 · · development, html, minimalism, conformance
On Ethics in Web Development (With a Brief Overview of Ethical Theories)
When we read and talk about ethics in technology, it’s rare that we’re explicit about the school(s) of thought we’re following. Surprisingly, this lack of clarity often works—but it’s relevant, interesting, and useful to be more clear about our ethical theories.
#655 · · development, philosophy
Website Optimization Measures, Part XXX
Everybody ♥️ website maintenance. On trimming input, updating WordPress ping services, cleaning up Eleventy architecture, reorganizing redirects, synchronizing server log configs, replacing dependencies by native Node functionality, adding minimal dark mode (HTML edition), and unfancying error pages.
#654 · · development, optimization
New to Web Development? Run Your Own Website
On the perhaps shortest advice for anyone entering the field (which is also sound for everyone in it).
#653 · · development
On Deciding Who We Are
When a country cannot agree to “advancing a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace in Ukraine” (or other countries).
#652 · · philosophy, misc, advocacy
Order Force in HTML?
Do you, too, find certain ways of ordering attributes to be more natural than others?
#651 · · development, html
Testing 10 JavaScript Frameworks on Their HTML Defaults
When you validate the demo and starter projects of popular frameworks like React, Vue, Angular, Svelte, Astro, &c., what do you find? On challenging the idea that JavaScript frameworks could fuel the HTML crisis.
#650 · · development, javascript, frameworks, html, conformance
On Making Sure Everyone Is Taken Care Of
For our own sake.
#649 · · philosophy, misc, advocacy
DORA, SPACE, DevEx, DX Core 4
Key metrics of and casual thoughts on four engineering productivity frameworks.
#648 · · management
The Donkey and the Rabbit
A rabbit goes for her daily run. This day, she decides to try a new route. At an intersection she meets a donkey. When the donkey is about to eat a nail—
#647 · · philosophy, misc
On Building AI Understanding and Automation Muscle (With 18 Random Problems Solved With AI)
If you’re like me, you’re also optimizing your use of AI in development, distinguishing your capabilities from AI, and improving your routine to build strong automation muscle. Thoughts and examples.
#646 · · development
Private Property
A quote, from Daniel Loick, that isn’t new, that isn’t all.
#645 · · philosophy, misc, advocacy
Google 2025
There are some things I find weird and disappointing about the Google of today.
#644 · · misc
Cool URLs Don’t Change, Unless…
A deferential (though not new) refinement of Tim Berners-Lee’s 1998 classic.
#643 · · development
Website Optimization Measures, Part XXIX
From cleaning up behind files and feature policies and Eleventy plugins to fun with CSS selectors and transitions to improving tables of contents to switching to ESM to testing bfcache to refactoring lists to tables.
#642 · · development, optimization
My 18-Months Rule for Open-Source Contributions
You make a good-faith contribution to an open-source project. There’s never a response. What do you do? On a rule I’ve established for my own open-source work, and the reasons behind it.
#641 · · development