In this episode, Matt and Mike dive into the world of freelancing—a rewarding but often challenging career path for web developers, designers, and tech enthusiasts alike. As 10+ year veterans of their own web dev agency, the guys share their personal insights and experiences when freelancing. Learn how to: make the most out of freelancing platforms like GURU, build an online presence for marketing, leveraging word of mouth once established, and dig up leads in unconventional places. Whether you’...
Feb 11, 2025•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 350
In this episode Matt and Mike delve into the world of asynchronous JavaScript, inspired by a listener's request. The discussion covers essential concepts such as synchronous and asynchronous operations, explaining how JavaScript's single-threaded nature can lead to blocking issues. The hosts explore various methods to handle async operations, including callbacks, promises, and the increasingly popular async/await syntax. They also address practical issues like error handling and best practices f...
Feb 04, 2025•58 min•Ep. 349
In this episode, Matt and Mike explore why vanilla JavaScript remains a powerful tool for developers. From small projects that don’t need the complexity of frameworks, to performance-critical and fine-control use cases, they discuss when and why going framework-free can be the better choice. They also dive into learning and debugging benefits, reducing dependencies, and ensuring compatibility with legacy browsers. Whether you’re prototyping, enhancing no-code platforms, or striving for leaner, f...
Jan 28, 2025•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 348
In this episode, Matt and Mike dive into the world of CSS, breaking down essential concepts to help developers write cleaner, more effective stylesheets. Topics include how to avoid over-specificity, the effective use of modern layout tools like Grid and Flexbox, leveraging custom properties for dynamic styling, and adopting methodologies such as BEM to ensure maintainable code. They’ll also explore the newest CSS features, such as container queries and scroll-linked animations, while highlighti...
Jan 21, 2025•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 347
Matt and Mike dive deep into the results of the State of JavaScript 2024 survey. The discussion covers various topics such as declining happiness with JavaScript frameworks, the rise of the Astro framework, and the increasing shift towards TypeScript. Additional discussions include the use of AI for code generation and some new JavaScript features that developers are excited about. The guys also discussed the complexities and evolving nature of web development, and whether the modern JavaScript ...
Jan 14, 2025•1 hr 30 min•Ep. 346
In this episode, Matt and Mike dive into the world of JavaScript environments, exploring the key differences between client-side and server-side JavaScript. Whether you're a beginner curious about how JavaScript works across the browser and the server, or an experienced developer looking for a refresher, this episode has you covered. Learn about the unique roles of client-side and server-side JavaScript, their common use cases, and when to use each. Plus, discover the latest trends like serverle...
Jan 08, 2025•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 345
In this episode, Matt and Mike take a look back at 2024, reflecting on the milestones and challenges of the past year. From tackling tough web development topics to experimenting with new strategies, it’s been a year of growth and learning for the podcast and its community. Show Notes: https://www.htmlallthethings.com/podcasts/2024-year-in-review-looking-towards-2025 Thanks to Wix Studio for sponsoring this episode! Check out Wix Studio, the web platform tailored to designers, developers, and ma...
Dec 31, 2024•55 min•Ep. 344
Holidays are a time to recharge, but for web developers, they can sometimes feel like an extension of the workweek. In this episode, Matt and Mike share strategies to set boundaries, avoid burnout, and truly disconnect during the holiday season. They also cover pre-holiday planning tips, ways to make the most of your time off, and how to start the new year with realistic expectations. Whether you're a freelancer or part of a team, these tips will help you balance work and rest this holiday seaso...
Dec 24, 2024•47 min•Ep. 343
In this episode of the HTML All The Things Podcast, Matt and Mike dive into why good HTML practices are essential for building better, more accessible, and maintainable websites. They kick things off by explaining the importance of semantic HTML for readability, SEO, and accessibility—covering useful tags like <header>, <footer>, and <article>. Matt and Mike also discuss how developers can properly create and use custom attributes—like data-* attributes—to store extra informati...
Dec 17, 2024•59 min•Ep. 342
In this episode, Matt interviews Thomas Chant, an educator at Scrimba and creator of their Advanced JavaScript Course. Thomas shares insights from his journey as a TEFL teacher and web developer, highlighting his passion for teaching and technology. The discussion covers the role of educators in web development, leveraging social media for learning, and the evolving impact of AI on the industry. Thomas also provides tips for aspiring developers entering the job market and details Scrimba’s excit...
Dec 12, 2024•1 hr 33 min•Ep. 341
In this episode of the HTML All Things Podcast, Matt and Mike explore the concept of monorepos - what they are, why they have gained popularity in recent years, and how they compare to polyrepos. The discussion delves into the advantages of monorepos, such as simplified dependency management, improved code sharing and reusability, consistency across teams, and streamlined CI/CD processes. Mike shares personal experiences and insights on the challenges and solutions related to monorepos, particul...
Dec 10, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 340
CSS is typically reserved to just laying out pages, with any sort of interactivity or layout changes being left to JavaScript. As CSS matured, more features came out that gave it the ability to detect dynamic conditions on the page, create advanced animations, and apply advanced styling based on custom attributes. These advanced features give web designers the power of interactive design without the need for less-performant JavaScript. With JavaScript remaining one of the top choices for buildin...
Dec 03, 2024•1 hr•Ep. 339
In this episode, Matt and Mike introduce a new episode type dedicated to exploring the rapidly evolving world of AI. As AI tools advance at lightning speed, staying informed is critical for developers navigating this transformative era. This week, they dive into the evolution of AI-powered development tools, from simple autocompletes like Copilot and TabNine to full-scale IDE solutions like Cursor and Supermaven. They discuss the pros and cons of using these advanced tools for multifile code gen...
Nov 26, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 338
How much power should you give your clients and non-tech colleagues? In this episode, Matt and Mike explore the evolving landscape of web development tools and workflows, inspired by Webflow's new page and component slots. They discuss how these innovations, along with popular page builders and CMSs, are empowering non-tech staff to take on more responsibilities, reducing developer involvement in day-to-day content updates. However, this shift comes with risks like design inconsistency, security...
Nov 19, 2024•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 337
Level up your vanilla JavaScript with these powerful Web APIs that every developer should know. In this episode, Matt and Mike dive into essential Web APIs that can take your web development skills to the next level. Discover how Web APIs differ from external APIs and explore their powerful capabilities—from manipulating the DOM and fetching data to enabling offline functionality for native app-like uses (ie PWAs). They’ll cover must-know APIs like Fetch, Storage, and Service Worker, along with ...
Nov 13, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 336
Rushed timelines and last-minute jobs are something that most developers are all too familiar with. While frequent rush jobs can signal deeper management issues, the fast-paced nature of the world means unexpected challenges often arise. In this episode, Matt and Mike explore strategies for developers to take charge when work needs to be completed quickly. They discuss how project leadership and effective decision-making can help prevent a rush job from turning into endless overtime. By taking o...
Nov 05, 2024•48 min•Ep. 335
The WordPress drama between WPEngine and Matt Mullenweg has been quite the stir up for primarily WordPress, but also the open source community in general. Not to mention, all the WPEngine customers that are effectively collateral damage having their websites adversely affected, sometimes without even realizing what's happening. In this episode, Matt and Mike discussed the WordPress drama and touched on how it could affect open source projects moving forward. Is WordPress in the right? Is WPEngin...
Oct 29, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 334
Side projects are often done as a for-fun and potentially for-profit outlet for web developers looking to break free from client projects where they have little control. Unfortunately, just like client projects, side projects can easily spiral out of scope to the point of developer exhaustion. In this episode, Matt and Mike explore how scope creep can derail personal projects, offering practical strategies to prevent it. They discuss defining a solid MVP, niching down to maintain focus, and prio...
Oct 22, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 333
In this episode Matt and MIke, continue their deep dive into the toughest concepts in web development. The guys tackle topics like mastering responsive design, ensuring web accessibility (a11y) for all users, and the complexities of server-side rendering (SSR), static site generation (SSG), and client-side rendering (CSR). They also explore the challenges of event-driven architectures, managing project dependencies efficiently, and setting up smooth CI/CD pipelines. Whether you're building scala...
Oct 15, 2024•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 332
Web development is not easy! Websites need to work on multiple devices, respect SEO best practices, and must deliver everything from blogs through complex design programs. These demanding sees web developers navigating not only demanding topics, but ones that are also difficult to engineer, implement, and maintain. In this episode, Matt and Mike start a discussion the toughest concepts in web development. In this first of two parts series, the duo discussed: Asynchronous programming & promis...
Oct 09, 2024•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 331
Matt and Mike had a great conversation with Shashi Lo this week! Shashi is a senior software engineer at Microsoft and founder of Gridiron Survivor - an open source NFL Survivor pool SaaS application that’s designed to help the junior developers working on it further their skills and knowledge through real-world experience. Unlike self-taught personal projects, Shashi walks us through how his mentees on the Gridiron Survivor project are guided through corporate standards such as writing clean co...
Oct 03, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 330
While trying to solve a coding problem this week, Matt found himself buried in a collection of solutions offered by ChatGPT and Google search results. Some of the solutions were completely new to him and so he got to thinking about how "safe" it would be to implement them. Not from a security perspective, as there wasn't any private data involved in this particular case, but his concern was more for the page UX itself. How efficient were the solutions he was about to implement, would it slow the...
Sep 30, 2024•57 min•Ep. 329
There is a lot of tech out there! It seems every day someone is coming out with a new way to edit images, use AI, build websites, assist developers, and the list goes on and on. This week, Matt and Mike decided to zoom in and discuss some of the tech that they enjoy using at the moment including Svelte/SvelteKit, TailwindCSS, Supermaven, and much more! The technologies that web developers change all the time - and not always obvious things like frameworks and plugins, but also more logistical el...
Sep 24, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 328
Scope creep is a very dangerous thing that can endanger a team's productivity and mental health. It involves taking the original scope of a project, and slowly but surely, adding more and more tasks to it. Often times scope creep is not done nefariously, as those that request tasks from developers are ignorant of the technical complexities of their requests. Unfortunately, there are those that will add to a project's scope willingly to take advantage of their employees, or there may be some mism...
Sep 17, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 327
Code quality matters! When developers write better, cleaner, and safer code - their deliverables improve significantly. When code is safer, there are less problems with crashes and unintended errors. When code is cleaner, team members find it easier to read, peer review, and add on to down the line. Improving the quality of your code is easier said than done, however, as it takes more than just "getting good" at coding. In this episode, Matt and Mike discussed the importance of and how to improv...
Sep 10, 2024•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 326
Should AI run in the cloud or on-device? Some people think that on-device is the only way forward as it ensures a certain level of privacy, while others worry that our local hardware (PC, smartphone, smartwatch) is not powerful enough to deliver cutting-edge features. In this episode, Matt and Mike explore how on-device AI and cloud-based AI work. The guys discussed the benefits of each approach while analyzing and debating their differences on both a hardware/software and user-experience level....
Sep 03, 2024•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 325
This week Matt and Mike took a trip down memory lane to discuss, debate, and reflect on some of their biggest projects that shaped their careers as web developers. As with many tech careers, the road to becoming a web developer is anything but straightforward. In the case of Matt and Mike, their planned IT startup took a hard right turn based on the opportunities they were afforded over the years such as working for a large medical clinic under the scrutiny of strict government regulations, bein...
Aug 27, 2024•1 hr 31 min•Ep. 324
It's often said that in order to become a junior developer, you should learn the three foundational pillars of web development before moving onto a framework, plugin, or other specialty. These pillars are of course: HTML (for site structure), CSS (for page styling), and JS (for advanced UI interactivity) - we refer to them as vanilla tech. Way back in the day, these pillars were pretty much the only thing most developers used to create websites (minus backend tech), but these days most jobs requ...
Aug 20, 2024•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 323
In this episode, Matt and Mike dive deep into the results of the Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2024, uncovering the latest trends, technologies, and tools shaping the programming world. From the most popular programming languages and frameworks to the evolving work environments and career satisfaction of developers, the guys break down the data to give you a comprehensive look at the state of software development today. Whether you're a seasoned developer or just starting out, this episode off...
Aug 14, 2024•55 min•Ep. 322
Today, we're diving deep into the vital topic of navigating ethics in web development. As developers, we face numerous decisions that fall under the umbrella of ethical practice, from ensuring digital privacy and user consent to integrating accessibility features and prioritizing data security. We'll explore how ethical considerations influence our choices, such as selecting sustainable hosting options, responsibly implementing cutting-edge technologies like AI, and making mindful UI/UX design d...
Aug 06, 2024•1 hr 34 min•Ep. 321
