“Real Web Developers Don’t Need Debugging Tools”

Published on May 14, 2010 (updated Feb 11, 2026), filed under development. (Share this post, e.g., on Mastodon.)

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Debugging tools make the developer life easier. They also make it harder.

Debugging tools save the more time the less experienced a web developer is and the more complex a project is.

However, debugging tools can stand in the way of a web developer building up experience, and building up experience more quickly. That is, making too generous use of debugging tools can mean short-term gains (solving a problem faster), but long-term sacrifices (potentially developing less of an understanding of the subject).

What you want to do is make short-term sacrifices (sitting on a problem for a bit longer, if necessary) for long-term gains (building up more experience, and benefiting from that experience in the long run).

Therefore, be mindful of your use of web dev debugging tools—like Firebug or Chrome’s Developer Tools—in order to grow your skills.

About Me

I’m Jens (long: Jens Oliver Meiert), and I’m an engineering lead, guerrilla philosopher, and indie publisher. I’ve worked as a technical lead and engineering manager at various companies (e.g., Google); I’m an active web and tool developer (code optimization, digital defense), a contributor to web standards (like HTML, CSS, WCAG), and a book author (O’Reilly, Frontend Dogma).

I love trying things—in web development and engineering management, but also in politics and philosophy, where I hold to one idea in particular: that we can only be well if we take good care of everyone. Here on meiert.com I talk about some of my perspectives and experiences. (Interpret charitably but be critical—and share feedback and advice that makes my work better.)