Front-End Web Daily – Details, episodes & analysis

Today is January 28, 2021, and for this Thursday Thoughts episode we're covering:

• Getting Your First Dev Job
• What You Should Do as a Junior Developer
• Helping Developers Be Leaders

Let's dive in!

----

When starting off as a web developer it can be difficult to juggle learning and job searching. Therefore, it is important to know what potential employers are looking for to ensure you are prioritizing the right tasks and opportunities. A recent post on freeCodeCamp gives a handful of tips from a hiring manager's perspective of what they look for when reviewing developer résumés. One of the key factors is regular commits on Github, which shows that you are just as passionate about coding as you claim to be.

----

Starting your career as a junior developer is very exciting, but it can also be overwhelming. A post on Hello Dev World from last week outlines some things you can do to improve as a junior developer. This includes asking questions, finding a mentor, and learning to debug. Remember, these first few years are all about learning and growing as a developer, so don't stress!

----

As a manager of a development team, it is important to help developers that aspire to be a leader to do so. Fostering an environment that allows career growth for these developers can be done with a bit of effort on your end. Monday's post on The Next Web gives some helpful insights on how to help developers be leaders. By providing opportunities, openly communicating, and more you can help boost your developers to the next level.

----

Want to know more? Head to fewdaily.com for more of today’s topics and other front-end web content! If you liked what you heard be sure to rate, review, and subscribe on your platform of choice. That's all for today, tune in tomorrow!

Today is January 27, 2021, and for this Wednesday Wisdom episode we're covering:

• Fullstack Development Trends
• Responsive CSS Frameworks
• State of Design in 2021

Let's dive in!

----

Fullstack development has moved from rarity to commonplace over the past few years. In 2021 it is easier than ever to be a fullstack developer simply because of all of the tools available. A recent post on noupe.com highlights the top 7 fullstack development trends to follow In 2021. It provides a stellar prediction of what to expect as the industry progresses this year and might even give you some ideas on new skills to learn.

----

Love 'em or hate 'em, CSS frameworks have become an integral part of web design and development. There are many out there, each with its own cult following, so Super Dev Resources has published a list of the 15 best responsive CSS frameworks for web design in 2021. Unsurprisingly, Bootstrap and Tailwind topped the list, but check out some of the others if you are looking for an alternative or have never used a framework before.

----

The design field is always changing and evolving so it's important to assess what happened last year to predict changes this year. Luckily, Abstract has done all of the hard work for us with their State of Design in 2021. Besides the beautiful design and interface of the website, there are several key points that are thoroughly elaborated on with charts, data, and research. A couple of the top ones are the necessity for better ways to measure impact and the pain points of design collaboration.

----

Want to know more? Head to fewdaily.com for more of today’s topics and other front-end web content! If you liked what you heard be sure to rate, review, and subscribe on your platform of choice. That's all for today, tune in tomorrow!

Today is September 4, 2020, and for this Friday Facts episode we're covering:

• Building a Portfolio for Your Dream Job
• Successful Telecommuting
• Free Courses for Web Designers

Let's dive in!

----

A web design portfolio can be one of the most difficult things to create. It can be hard to think up new ideas and projects to build from scratch. Yesterday, The Next Web posted several suggestions to help create a great portfolio to land your dream job, including designing a WordPress theme and creating a UI toolkit. These are the perfect starting points to build the perfect portfolio.

----

Telecommuting has become one of the most popular ways to work, whether it was forced upon us or not. While it seems to be here to stay, and certainly in a bigger way into the future, it certainly can be difficult for people who are not used to it. Noupe posted an extensive guide to successful teleworking that is definitely worth the read. Learn about advantages, disadvantages, and best practices for effective telecommuting.

----

As web designers and developers it is important to continue to learn in this industry that is continually changing and evolving around us. However, it can be difficult to find the time and the resources to do so. Webdesigner Depot posted a list of great free resources to help learn new skills and stay up-to-date, including edX and Envato.

----

Want to know more? Head to fewdaily.com for more of today’s topics and other front-end web content! If you liked what you heard be sure to rate, review, and subscribe on your platform of choice. That's all for today, tune in tomorrow!

Today is September 3, 2020, and for this Thursday Thoughts episode we're covering:

• Starting a Freelance Business
• Finding Freelance Clients
• Habits of Successful Freelancers

Let's dive in!

----

Starting a freelance business is the dream for many web designers and developers. Making your own schedule and working from anywhere are some of the benefits but there are also many cons to consider. Before you quit your full-time job and dive right in, read through Sunday's post from Pixel77 about things to consider when creating a freelance business and actionable steps to start with.

----

So, you've started a freelance business, now comes the important part: getting clients. Before you start, take a look at the post from earlier this month on creative.onl that gives several suggestions on how to earn new clients for your business. They vary from proposals to content marketing to referrals and give methods for succeeding at each.

----

Now that you have your business and you are getting clients, how do you maintain and grow your business? The key is creating habits to make your business life consistent and run smoothly. There are several habits you can adopt, many of which are outlined in yesterday's post on Dribbble, including setting up systems and marketing daily.

----

Want to know more? Head to fewdaily.com for more of today’s topics and other front-end web content! If you liked what you heard be sure to rate, review, and subscribe on your platform of choice. That's all for today, tune in tomorrow!

Today is September 2, 2020, and for this Wednesday Wisdom episode we're covering:

• Burnout Symptoms for Developers
• Writing a Good Pull Request Description
• Improving Novice JavaScript Coding Patterns

Let's dive in!

----

Burnout is defined by the World Health Organization as "a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed." And this stress is very common among developers who are frequently overworked and stressed. A recent post on The Next Web goes into detail regarding burnout for developers outlining what is burnout, possible syndromes developers might experience, common causes, and prevention. It is a very educational read that is perfect for anyone, but especially developers.

----

Pull requests are an integral and important part of open-source and almost any other form of development. This is why writing a good pull request description is critical for maintaining the code base efficiently and effectively. A post last week on freeCodeCamp outlined the components of a pull request description and why they are necessary. While each developer and even each repository might have its own format, it never hurts to have a refresher on key components for a quality pull request description.

----

There are many different ways to reach the same outcome with JavaScript. But some of these ways may give away that you are a novice developer, or at least have the coding habits of one. A post on Monday in the DEV Community highlights a couple of ways that you can improve your code to show that you are not just beginning your JavaScript career. Learn the strategies of "not overusing if and else statements" and "not using functional programming in a nonfunctional way."

----

Want to know more? Head to fewdaily.com for more of today’s topics and other front-end web content! If you liked what you heard be sure to rate, review, and subscribe on your platform of choice. That's all for today, tune in tomorrow!

Today is September 1, 2020, and for this Tuesday Tips episode we're covering How to Integrate Media Queries into JavaScript

Let's dive in!

----

There's no doubt about it, media queries are one of the most useful CSS features for a modern website. They allow you to create a breakpoint for your website where you can adjust styles for larger or smaller screen sizes. While this is great for use in CSS, what if you want to utilize media queries in JavaScript?

----

As with anything in JavaScript, there are multiple ways to accomplish a task. For example, a method for recognizing media queries in JavaScript is to check if an element is visible. So, if the mobile menu button is visible do a certain JS function. And you would put this in a function whenever the window resizes. While this may get the job done, there is perhaps a better and cleaner way to accomplish the same task.

----

There is a window listener in JavaScript called matchMedia which will listen for a specific value and trigger when true. For example:

When we add a listener to the variable it can run a function:

This opens the possibility of passing any function to the listener and only having that function run on certain screen widths.

----

The matchMedia function is widely supported, including full support for Internet Explorer 10 and 11.

----

Today’s Tuesday Tips was adapted from a post on Daily Dev Tips.

----

Want to know more? Head to fewdaily.com for more of today’s topics and other front-end web content! If you liked what you heard be sure to rate, review, and subscribe on your platform of choice. That's all for today, tune in tomorrow!

Today is August 31, 2020, and for this Monday Medley episode we're covering:

• Open-Source for Beginners
• Bootstrap Icons
• Using Frontity for Headless WordPress

Let's dive in!

----

One of the greatest parts of being a developer is using and participating in open-source projects. But it can seem intimidating for first-time developers to jump into a project. A post yesterday on the DEV community goes through how to contribute to an open-source project for beginners. It outlines some basic skills you might need to get started and some initial ideas for how to contribute.

----

On Friday, Bootstrap released the first stable version of its custom icons. With over 1,100 icons in the initial release, you are bound to find the icon you are looking for. The icons are SVG-based, which makes them very versatile in their utility. Read more about Bootstrap icons from the release notes and the documentation.

----

Frontity allows for a headless version of WordPress with a React front-end. This means that you can manage your website content in WordPress and utilize the API functionality to create the front-end using a modern front-end framework and features. On Friday, LogRocket posted about getting started with Frontity, which walks through the process of setting up a website with Frontity. For those who love to use WordPress and build React websites, it is the perfect combination.

----

Want to know more? Head to fewdaily.com for more of today’s topics and other front-end web content! If you liked what you heard be sure to rate, review, and subscribe on your platform of choice. That's all for today, tune in tomorrow!

Today is August 28, 2020, and for this Friday Facts episode we're covering:

• Landing Page Design
• Having a High-Quality Website in 2020
• Getting More Newsletter Sign-Ups

Let's dive in!

----

Landing pages are still an important promotional tool for many modern businesses. They allow a company or individual to promote a product, email list, or other services in a small and concise package. They are the perfect place to drive marketing campaigns and advertisements with a tailored page specifically designed for those leads. However, there is an art to designing these pages, and a post yesterday from Line25 lists things to avoid when creating the perfect landing page.

----

Website design and development is constantly changing and evolving, which is why it is important to keep your skills and your website up to date. On Wednesday, a post on Torque, a publication by WPEngine, highlighted key elements for a high-quality website in 2020. Topics included ease of use, fast loading, and accessibility and are a great point of reference to assess anyone's website.

----

While mailing lists may seem outdated they still rank as one of the best content marketing tactics with some of the highest engagement rates. But it isn't as easy as it sounds to build a massive email list, especially in 2020 when every website seems to have one. Creative.onl shared a post on Monday outlining 5 techniques to get more newsletter sign-ups, which goes into detail on specific actions you can take, such as creating a compelling offer and properly utilizing a thank-you page.

----

Want to know more? Head to fewdaily.com for more of today’s topics and other front-end web content! If you liked what you heard be sure to rate, review, and subscribe on your platform of choice. That's all for today, tune in tomorrow!

Today is August 27, 2020, and for this Thursday Thoughts episode we're covering:

• Fresh Content Marketing Strategies
• Google vs Netlify Analytics
• Increasing Productivity in the Workplace

Let's dive in!

----

As freelancers, we are always looking for new ways to establish our business as an expert in our respective fields. Content marketing has always been a staple strategy to drive our business forward, examples being blogs, ebooks, webinars, and podcasts. But it is important to be on the lookout for new strategies to help elevate our businesses to the top of the leaderboards. Check out yesterday's post on The Next Web for content marketing strategies, both old and fresh.

----

Google Analytics has been around for a long time and has been a standard for every website. However, the age of serverless has brought about Netlify and their analytics service. For me, it can be hard to tell exactly how my analytics data is formed and it certainly becomes an overwhelming amount of information. Having had no experience with Netlify's analytics I found Jim Nielsen's July blog post to be incredibly informational as he compares the two services. The post is very in-depth and even offers some conflicting analytics between the two, which still makes me wonder just how accurate any of these services are.

----

If you're like me (and a lot of other people) you may struggle to be productive during your workday. Especially now with so many people still working from home or adjusting to the new normal in a changed office setting, it is perhaps the hardest it has ever been to be productive. A post yesterday by actiTime highlighted some key ways to boost productivity and each is backed a great person in history who suggested it. If you're looking for some new ways to boost your productivity or just need a refresher, give the article a read!

----

Want to know more? Head to fewdaily.com for more of today’s topics and other front-end web content! If you liked what you heard be sure to rate, review, and subscribe on your platform of choice. That's all for today, tune in tomorrow!

Today is August 26, 2020, and for this Wednesday Wisdom episode we're covering:

• WordPress Auto-Updates
• 10 Online Design Tools
• React vs Angular

Let's dive in!

----

With the recent release of WordPress 5.5, an auto-update feature was added for plugins and themes. This goes along with the auto-update feature for WordPress Core that was recently added. Allowing your WordPress site to update your themes or plugins can have pros and cons, which are highlighted in a recent post on speckyboy.com. Luckily, you can choose to toggle this feature on a per theme or plugin basis.

----

Yesterday, Dribbble posted a list titled 10 online design tools you never knew you needed. The list includes many great online tools like a brand book creator, a free screen recorder, and a sub-list of Chrome extensions. The next time you are starting a project, check out some of these awesome design tools!

----

Yesterday, SitePoint posted a phenomenal in-depth article comparing Facebook's React framework to Google's Angular. The post compares and contrasts their features, ecosystems, and more. It is a great read for developers of all skill sets with these frameworks and is a good read to decide which framework works best for you.

----

Want to know more? Head to fewdaily.com for more of today’s topics and other front-end web content! If you liked what you heard be sure to rate, review, and subscribe on your platform of choice. That's all for today, tune in tomorrow!