Web Development × Engineering Management × Philosophy (2)
Articles and books on the craft of web development (with a focus on HTML/CSS optimization and maintainability), engineering management, and philosophy.
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, ai
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
An Overview of the 50 Highest-Ranking Web Design and Development Glossaries
If you want to look up terms, there are dozens if not hundreds of tech glossaries. However, a search quickly shows differences in how comprehensive and therefore useful these glossaries are—and doesn’t show whether the glossaries are being updated. A view at the glossary landscape.
#640 · · development, design
2024
Professional and personal highlights from the past year. Happy 2025!
#639 · · misc
CSS: How to Indicate Container Overflow, When There Is Overflow
You have a block of text that you can’t shorten and yet that you don’t want to give too much space, so as not to draw attention away from other content. It’s useful metadata that you like to show. On a stopgap option using scroll-driven animations.
#638 · · development, css, design
The CSS Reset Contradiction
Re-publishing my article for SitePoint, discussing what I think we miss in our conversations: Notably, what are the premises for CSS resets? What’s the reality—or are the realities? And, how could we also approach resets?
#637 · · development, css
HTML Conformance: A Comparison of 6.5 npm Validator Packages (With 1.5 Recommendations)
What do you do if you want to make sure you’re not writing and shipping fantasy HTML, but choose to or have to avoid the web-based W3C HTML validator?
#636 · · development, html, conformance
When We Need Systems, Processes, and Conventions
Oh the bore.
#635 · · development, management
Genocide Dilemma
On what it means that we’re still committing and accepting genocides.
What Is HTML Optimization? What Is It Not?
Is HTML optimization as well-defined as we need it to be? A look at what’s out there and an attempt to be clearer.
#633 · · development, html, quality, optimization
How to Add WebGlossary.info as a Search Engine in Your Browser
In short, you can search the glossary via “https://webglossary.info/search/%s”.
#632 · · development
Website Optimization Measures, Part XXVIII
What is it this time? Medium links, font smoothing, Eleventy templates, Bluesky handles and support, post automation, front matter quotes, and Twitter/X links. In this order.
#631 · · development, optimization
The Image Compression Challenge Results
How many projects cannot losslessly be compressed further, how much would I donate for the challenge I invited to?
#630 · · development
Where Has All the Valid HTML Gone
When we look at the state of HTML… how much of it actually is HTML?
#629 · · development, html, conformance
What I Learned About That Difficult Childhood
On a changing—and perhaps transcending—perspective on pain.
#628 · · philosophy, misc
1 + 2 Engineering Team Priorities
Are great teams “just doing the work”?
#627 · · development
8 AI Tips for Web Developers (and Their Careers)
AI is everywhere and comes with many problems and challenges. Yet as web developers, we need to adapt to a reality with AI. A few ideas on how we can make use of AI to the benefit of our work and our careers.
#626 · · development, ai
When You Are Rich
On what you do as a person who is very rich.
3 Things to Note About Democracy
If we think democracy can do without education, constructive intentions, and quality candidates, I believe we’re not getting democracy—and risk it.
Everyone Can Set You Up for Failure, Not Everyone Sets You Up for Success
On a conscious choice that we can make, and that we best make sure others make.
#623 · · philosophy, misc
The Image Compression Challenge (Donating Money for Excess-Free Projects)
Here’s a frontend challenge. Run an image compression tool capable of near-losslessly compressing PNG, JPG, GIF, WebP, and AVIF images over one of your main projects. Share if nothing could be compressed. I donate money for each of such projects.
#622 · · development
Website Optimization Measures, Part XXVII
On improvements involving Eleventy (3), Lightning CSS, Imagemin Guard, early hints, ads, creator metadata, and custom/programmable search engines.
#621 · · development, optimization
Results = Ć’(Competence Ă— Time)
On a model that can tell us something about how we work, and how we could work.
#620 · · management
Growth
A rant.
Boring Web Development
Web development is boring—or should be more boring. On us tending to celebrate the wrong side of web development.
#618 · · development
HTML/CSS Frameworks, in Their Own Words (by Word Cloud)
Checking in on Bootstrap, Tailwind, Foundation, Bulma, Milligram, Pure, and UIkit.
#617 · · development, html, css, frameworks
JS Frameworks, in Their Own Words (by Word Cloud)
Handing the microphone to React, Vue.js, Angular, Svelte, Express, Meteor, and Next.js.
#616 · · development, javascript, frameworks
Automatable Defensive Core Image Compression With Imagemin Guard 4 (Now With No Imagemin)
The Imagemin Guard package was just updated to move away from the unmaintained Imagemin family, and to improve code, tests, documentation, and usability. If you like to avoid unnecessary image payload, even in your repos, especially in environments where not everyone pays attention to it, this is a good update to try.
#615 · · development, optimization
What Germany May Not Have Learned From the Holocaust
No matter who is being violated, learning from a genocide means fighting against any genocide.
Not Knowable
Casual appreciation about our dealing with knowledge.
#613 · · philosophy
Untrained Engineering Managers
Web development has always had a developer training issue, but it also has one on the management and leadership side. On a challenge we’re all familiar with but rarely talk and do something about.
#612 · · development, management
Website Optimization Measures, Part XXVI
Optimizations related to the Google docs viewer, dependency management, English terms in German copy, Prettier, AWS, SEO bots, Eleventy, and DreamHost.
#611 · · development, optimization
On Ticket Management
Issue tracking tools like Jira, GitHub Issues, or Bugzilla are essential for managing bugs and tasks (that is, issues). However, not everyone finds ticket management convenient or convincing. A perspective on why tickets matter, and how they can be used well.
#610 · · development, management
The Assessment Paradox
For any individual or group we may think that it can assess itself best because it knows itself best. Yet this is not reliable. We may then think it’s other individuals or groups interacting with that first individual or group who may be able to assess it. This is not so, either.
#609 · · management, philosophy
2024: 0.5% of the Global Top 200 Websites Use Valid HTML
The annual HTML conformance analysis, validating 200 home pages of the most popular websites. Despite improvements, there is no signal of commitment to valid output as a quality baseline to benefit end users as well as web development as a profession.
#608 · · development, html, conformance
On Disagreement
From discomfort that can lead to shortcuts to challenges that may yield transformations.
#607 · · misc
The HTML History and Optimization Cheat Sheet
Compare elements and specifications, check on void elements and optional tags.
#606 · · development, html, optimization
Notes on Setting Up a Static Website With AWS (Route 53, S3, ACM)
…and whether doing so is worth it. (There are pos and cons, and they all seem pretty dramatic.)
#605 · · development
Notes on Hooking Up a Website With Cloudflare
I played around with Cloudflare.
#604 · · development
Imposing on Hearing
On the sense that we may be able to defend the least.
#603 · · misc