A few of my favorite web development resources…
Kevin Powell
My all time favorite “CSS Evangelist”. Kevin Powell has a lovely way of explaining all things CSS, and is an excellent resource for everything from beginner tutorials to new feature deep dives.
Wes Bos
Co-host of the web dev podcast Syntax, Wes Bos offers a huge range of tutorials, articles, exercises and more. His approachable enthusiasm is contagious and the structure of his JS content has always “clicked” for me in ways other tutorials don’t.
Accessibility Checklist
From the A11y Project, this accessibility checklist is a great tool to both check a project and better train yourself as a developer for WCAG compliance.
CodePip Games
CodePip is a platform for gamified web development tutorials for beginners. If you’re just getting started, I highly recommend Flexbox Froggy and Grid Garden to get familiar with CSS basics, which are both free. There are also HTML, JavaScript and SQL games!
CSS Specificity Calculator
Exactly what it says it is – A visual way to understand CSS specificity. You can paste your own selectors or choose from preset options.
Can I Use?
Hands down the gold standard for checking on browser support for CSS, HTML5, JS and SVG features. Heard about a new CSS pseudo-class and wondering if it’s safe to start implementing? Can I Use has the answers.
Visual Design Rules
A visual guide for basic web design rules. From padding to font sizes to container colors, this one page packs a punch and shows easily digestible examples of each concept. It’s by no means exhaustive, but a great primer or refresher if you want to get better at web design without a deep dive.
Book: A Common-Sense Guide to Data Structures and Algorithms
Want to level up your core programming skills? This book has you covered. Even if you only absorb a handful of concepts, you’ll come out a better developer. It even helped recursion click for me!
Refurbished Affordable Office Chairs
An ergonomic work environment is critical to your health, even if you aren’t dealing with chronic pain like me. Just like a good pair of shoes, a quality office chair is a worthwhile investment. Unfortunately, top of the line chairs are seriously pricey. That’s where refurbishing comes in handy. For a few hundred bucks you can snag a chair that costs nearly $2k new. After a ton of research, I got a fully loaded Steelcase Leap V2 from Madison Seating for $300. Two years later I couldn’t be happier!
Attn: Misophoniacs!
This product genuinely changed my life. I have serious misophonia (a sound sensitivity disorder that causes certain “soft sounds” to trigger the brain’s fight or flight response). Flare Calmers aren’t ear plugs. Instead, they gently reduce triggers without blocking other sounds, so you can still be engaged with the world, just less stressed out by it. Highly recommend for shared work spaces where you can’t isolate yourself.