Ever wonder what a developer really does at a tech startup? In this episode, we break down a full week—from scattered meetings and deep work to deployments, sprint planning, and handling the chaos of outages and DDoS attacks. Get a behind-the-scenes look at balancing coding, team support, and product planning in a fast-moving environment.
In this episode, Mike sits down with Anthony Shew from Turborepo to talk all things monorepos. They explore the pros and cons of monorepos versus traditional multi-repo setups, and how Turborepo compares to other tools like pnpm workspaces and Nx. Anthony shares tips on getting the most out of your monorepo, common pitfalls to avoid, and where monorepos might not be the right fit. They also dive into how AI tools like Cursor and Windsurf benefit from having full codebase context—and whether that context can become a downside. To wrap things up, Anthony gives a look at what’s next for Turborepo.
In this edition of Web News, we dive into our personal coding companions — from chill playlists and brain-boosting podcasts to TV shows that keep us motivated (or distracted 😅). Whether you're team lo-fi, true crime, or total silence, we've got takes. Plus, we explore how background content affects productivity and creativity.
In this episode, Matt and Mike explore what it takes to transition from being a developer employee to becoming a tech founder or business owner. They break down how your personal situation—time, money, dependents, and hobbies—can impact your readiness to make the leap. This isn't just about technical skill. You’ll need to think strategically, handle business admin, understand local laws, and price your services or products properly. Plus, they ask a critical question: do you actually want to own a business, or would a different job be a better fit?
Are you constantly bombarded by notifications? In this episode of Web News, Matt and Mike dive into the growing problem of digital overwhelm — from buzzing phones to nonstop pings — and how minimal phones might be the answer.
We explore distraction-free devices like the Minimal Phone and Light Phone 3, how they work, and whether switching to one could help you focus, reduce anxiety, and reclaim your time.
📱 Is it time to ditch your smartphone?
In this episode, Matt and Mike explore the 80/20 rule and how developers can use it to boost productivity, reduce burnout, and prioritize what matters—plus how AI is reshaping the rule itself.
Endless ideas, abandoned projects, and a pile of unused domain names—sound familiar? In this episode, Matt and Mike explore how developers can avoid false starts and take meaningful first steps when launching new projects. They dig into why buying a domain name might feel productive (but often isn’t), when it's actually the right move, and how jumping into real problem-solving helps build momentum and deeper focus.
In this edition of Web News, Matt and Mike discuss the rapidly evolving world of AI, and AI tooling. As web developers, the guys are no stranger to online tools that promise to do everything under the sun - but lately it feels like an infinite amount of new ones are coming out all the time due, powered by AI. Is it possible to keep up with everything that's coming out? Should you even bother trying?
In this episode, Matt and Mike talk about the current state of the dev world—layoffs, AI tools, and the unstable job market—while highlighting the real opportunities that still exist. They share actionable ways to stand out, build useful projects, network, and niche down to land work in a tough economy.
In this episode of HTML All The Things, Mike chats with William Madden, Developer Advocate at Prisma, to uncover what makes modern ORMs essential in today's development workflows. They break down what an ORM is, why developers should care, and how Prisma sets itself apart in the crowded ORM space. William also dives into the technical challenges of building an ORM, the reasoning behind Prisma’s shift from Rust binaries to TypeScript, and what’s on the horizon for the platform. Whether you’re deep in backend development or just getting started with databases, this episode offers insights you won’t want to miss.
As developers and business owners, it’s easy to get stuck in the daily grind — coding, responding to emails, handling support — and forget to actually build the business. In this episode, Matt and Mike dive into what it really means to work on your business instead of just in it. The guys explore strategies to avoid becoming your own overworked employee, how to delegate or automate low-leverage tasks, and the mindset shifts that help you move from operator to true owner. Inspiration for this episode came from the guys' own experience regarding their business for the past few years, where the workload from clients has overwhelmed their day-to-day, leaving strategy and business development completely stagnant.
In this episode, Matt sits down with Tom Barrasso from Cloud Phone to explore why flip phones are still relevant in 2025. They discuss the rise of digital detox, who’s using feature phones today, and how developers can still build apps for low-spec devices. From KaiOS and Cloud Phone to nostalgia and screen-time reduction—this is a deep dive into the flip phone revival and the tech powering it.
Even if you’re not "doing DevOps," understanding it can seriously level up your development career. In this episode, Matt and Mike dive into why every web developer should care about DevOps practices, even at a basic level. They explore how deployment pipelines work, how Git supports safe code changes, and how you can prevent and fix production issues faster. You'll hear real-world examples showing how small habits—like writing good commit messages, checking build logs, and knowing when to rollback—can make you a better teammate and a more reliable developer. Whether you're working with GitHub Actions, Vercel, Jenkins, or another CI/CD system, this episode will help you work smarter, troubleshoot faster, and stay calm under pressure.
In this episode, Matt and Mike explore the temptation to always chase the latest and greatest in tech—whether it's new frameworks, tools, or workflows that dominate developer discourse. While the buzz can be exciting, blindly adopting bleeding-edge technology can lead to serious downsides like poor documentation, tiny communities, and unstable tools. The guys discuss how these risks affect both personal and client projects, when it's actually worth going cutting-edge, and why it's perfectly okay (and often smarter) to use tried-and-true tech. If you've ever felt FOMO seeing everyone jump to the next hot thing, this one's for you.
In this episode, Mike shares his theory that AI will make it easier to prototype and launch startups, potentially opening more opportunities for developers outside of big tech. Matt and Mike compare working in startups versus big tech across several categories like career growth, pace, culture, job security, and more. Drawing on personal experiences and industry research, they explore how each environment can shape a developer’s career—and how AI might change the game.
In this episode, Matt and Mike explore the full stack of a website, highlighting what clients often overlook when requesting a new site. While it's easy to focus on what’s visible—like product pages, landing pages, and design elements—the real complexity lies beneath the surface. A professional website requires thoughtful planning around content management systems (CMS), performance optimization, SEO, hosting infrastructure, and security. They dive into how CMS setups vary across industries, how performance issues can impact user experience and search rankings, and why hosting choices matter for scalability and deployment workflows. The conversation also touches on spam protection, third-party integrations, and the ongoing nature of SEO and content strategy. Whether you're a developer trying to educate your clients, or a business owner looking to understand what really goes into a website build, this episode breaks down why a website is so much more than what you see on the screen.
On this episode of HTML All The Things, Jonathan Schor joins us to discuss why coding may be the next essential skill for kids in our tech-driven world. We explore the gamification of coding education, how it engages young learners, and why it could transform traditional teaching methods. Jonathan shares insights on whether coding should be part of elementary school curriculums and addresses concerns about AI’s impact on the future of coding careers. Plus, we look into CodeMonkey’s exciting plans and how it’s shaping the future of coding education.
Choosing the right code editor can make or break a web developer's workflow. In this episode, we dive into the Top 5 Code Editors for Web Developers—exploring their strengths, quirks, and everything in between. From the widely-loved Visual Studio Code to the blazing-fast newcomer Zed, we discuss which editors could suit your coding style. Whether you're a fan of Vim's keyboard mastery, WebStorm's all-in-one features, or experimenting with modern tools like Cursor, there's something here for everyone. Tune in to find the perfect fit for your development journey!
In this episode, Matt walks through his real-world SEO checklist for launching new websites—based on the process he followed while preparing a recent client site for launch. He covers everything from SEO titles, meta descriptions, and OG images to page performance, link structure, and content considerations. Along the way, Mike shares some of his own experiences, tools, and hard-earned lessons—like why automatic OG image generation can be a pain and how redirects can impact link equity. Whether you're prepping a site for launch or just want to tighten up your SEO workflow, this episode is packed with practical, real-world advice.
Today we had the pleasure of sitting down with Per Borgen to get his insights and opinions on landing a developer job despite current market challenges. We also got his opinions on how AI is shaping both developer productivity and developer education. As the CEO of Scrimba, an online coding school with over 1 million users, Per has unique insights into not only web development, but also the challenges that aspiring and junior developers face as they learn and enter the job market. If you’re looking at getting a job in web development this episode is packed with tips and tricks to help you succeed as you learn and start to earn.
Modern office work is a dystopian nightmare, but did you know a WWII sabotage manual describes it perfectly? In this episode, Matt and Mike explore the eerie similarities between workplace inefficiency and deliberate sabotage, diving into burnout, corporate jargon, and the illusion of productivity. From pointless meetings to overcomplicated approval processes, we break down the hidden forces making work feel meaningless. Inspired by the Burnout - When does work start feeling pointless? documentary, we also discuss the origins of corporate buzzwords, ineffective management, and the promises of career success that no longer hold true. If you've ever felt drained by work, this one's for you!
In this episode Mike had the pleasure of sitting down with Maximilian Schwarzmüller to discuss developer education. Before the days of AI, developers would typically go to a traditional school program, do a Udemy course, or maybe take part in a bootcamp. In 2025, the AI era has shifted a lot of things, including developer education into a new space. Mike and Max explore the evolution of developer education, the role of AI in your 2025 learning journey, and what skills (if any) you should prioritize in these new exciting times.
Dive into the comeback of Web News as we discuss popular AI coding tools, the new "vibe coding" trend, and Firefox's new TOS changes. Coding with AI has become commonplace over the past couple years with consumer tools like ChatGPT showing off their coding competence. As professional developers adopt AI into the workplace they may start with ChatGPT, but will likely adopt coding-specific tools such as GitHub Copilot, Cursor, and Windsurf. Vibe Coding is a new trend where you fire up an AI assistant and let it do the coding work for you through human language prompts - opening up rapid prototyping for experienced developers and helping newbies have their ideas realized (to some extent). Firefox has made headlines recently regarding changes to their TOS regarding privacy - are they still the "privacy browser" that many users trusted them to be?
In this episode we had the pleasure of sitting down with Kent C. Dodds, a celebrated educator, open-source advocate, and React expert. He’s the creator of the Epic Web conference starting on March 25th 2025 and has created some of the best React workshops and courses out there. Together, we dove deep into how AI has made it almost impossible to apply to jobs the traditional way and if junior developers should turn off their AI chatbots when learning. We also covered what framework you should be learning and the roadmap for learning it. (Spoiler alert... it’s React).
Dive into this episode of HTML All the Things as hosts Matt and Mike unlock the secrets to thriving in the world of remote work! They break down every model—from synchronous and asynchronous setups to hybrid and freelance paths—so listeners can find the perfect match for their lifestyle and personality. Matt and Mike share actionable strategies for boosting productivity, covering everything from time management and work environment hacks to mastering communication and leveraging top tools like Slack, Notion, and Zoom. The hosts also tackle the challenges unique to remote work, such as isolation, miscommunication, and the elusive work-life balance, offering practical advice on overcoming these hurdles. Plus, they provide expert tips on landing remote web development jobs, building a standout portfolio, acing remote interviews, and spotting red flags in job listings. Whether you're a seasoned remote pro or just starting out, this episode is packed with insights to help you succeed in the ever-evolving remote landscape.
