For better or worse the web industry is going through a bit of a phase. The reasons are largely irrational. People still need the web, nothing has changed there. Regardless, the financials of this business are a struggle. Longterm career prospects are looking dicey.
Because I openly reject the driving force intent on destroying my profession, and ruffle a few feathers doing so, I often get asked privately for advice from like-minded peers. I can only offer an uninspired but sensible reply: don’t quit a paying job without a fallback. Go to the Winchester, have a nice cold pint, and wait for all of this to blow over.
Characters from Shaun of the Dead (2004) enjoying drinks in the Winchester pub. Simon Pegg's character is holding a pint in a cheers pose and is winking at the camera.
I’m confident the situation will improve. Before it does, what can we focus on to accelerate past the intellectual slump, and better position ourselves once things calm down?
What’s in
For a sustainable web career, where better to look than critical skills in desperately short supply? My focus is on front-end development, but these areas of knowledge are relevant to anyone in the business of making websites.
Accessibility
Accessibility has always been a foundation of web development but it’s never been more critical for everyone to champion it. Understand why accessibility is for everyone. Learn how to talk about accessibility in respect to real needs and practical implementation.
Accessibility has unfortunately become a virtue signal for certain tech groups. (I’m told LinkedIn is rife with misinformation.) Accessibility is not a feature that can be tacked on to a website like garnish. Accessibility issues can’t be fixed with an automated process at the end. Web professionals must be able to counter this mindset by respecting accessibility in all decisions from day one.
Learn and adopt the guidelines as your baseline. Speak to and test with real people. Defer to specialists who are eager for you to understand the realities.
CSS (in stylesheets)
CSS is the most vibrant and evolving of the front-end standards. To architecture a good stylesheet takes deep understanding of the language features. Newer features like
CSS has always been equipped to handle well organised styles, but developers who refuse to learn and respect the language have sought to push complexity elsewhere, using simplified abstractions or “CSS-in-JS” solutions. These are inherently limiting, lead to poor performance, and don’t actually solve the problems they claim.
CSS should be hard and learning it will give you the ability to express creativity beyond cookie cutter web design. CSS skills will be highly desirable as more websites wish to stand out against the convergence of a generated aesthetic.
Communication skills
Communication is a “soft skill” in short supply (for obvious reasons). It’s a great skill if you wish to stand out as an expert, or simply be heard amongst the noise. Learn brevity and focus on important points. Don’t be afraid to ask questions.
Address concerns tactfully and early before they escalate. Don’t point fingers, but “cover your ass” — everyone on a project should be working towards the same goal, but some may be misguided in their approach. Remain positive and don’t meet negativity head-on.
If you can communicate well you’ll be highly respected in your role.
Rejecting fascism
You probably weren’t expecting this one, but here we are.
The luxury of not “getting political” has abated. Far-right political ideology is on the rise and dormant hatred is waking up in tech. The epicentre of fash-tech is Musk’s “X” with people like David Heinemeier Hansson spewing racism and abusing authority in communities to push an agenda, and Guillermo Rauch taking a selfie with a war criminal. Large tech giants like Digital Ocean are funding this power grab. Be wary of those denying this threat.
If you want to avoid being pushed away from this industry, recognise and reject fascism before it comes for you. Don’t stay silent.
What’s out
I’ve covered topics that’ll see us well for the future, but what should we forget?
React
Facebook’s experiment turned cargo cult is a legacy framework that still lingers, but there’s no reason to learn it today. React has entrenched itself as a lingua franca of code extruders. React code is generated faster than any human can possibly read it. Suffice it to say that despite stale job vacancies still demanding experience, React is not worth investing time. The days of high-paying React development are numbered.
GitHub
GitHub is now a liability. For private repositories use self-hosted git forges. I’d recommend Forgejo. One of the many Tailscale-like services is an easy way to gate remote access. Don’t make stuff public for the dead internet to attack! For CI/CD go local too, or use independent services not tied to tech giants. Take the time to learn basic git commands. A little technical and infrastructure knowledge goes a long way.
Influencers
These people are handsome, charismatic, highly personable. I’m talking about: developer relations, youtubers, start-up founders, etc. When the tech industry met us halfway, influencers were entertaining and a good chinwag at after parties. Now the game has changed and we should not allow false narratives to dominate and dictate a closed-web future. Normal people still use the web. Incredibly few can afford to pay for the novelties that influencers peddle. Their attention economy is no longer our concern.
So that’s my focus for a sustainable web career, when all this blows over.
Remember that above all else: the web is a human creation for human needs. Those needs are not going anywhere. Drop the dead weight accumulated in times of prosperity. Go back to basics and position yourself well for when professional demand returns.