Web dev craftsmanship

I’m coming to realize that a lot of my dissatisfaction with the state of the web is that I view web development as a craft, but as a profession we’re in the late-stage industrial age.

I prefer a web of hand-laid bricks placed by skilled masons. The industry wants poured, stamped concrete. I want a web of bespoke suits. The industry wants mass-produced fast-fashion.

Why learn CSS when you can just slap some Tailwind on things? Why learn HTML when you can just chuck a few (hundred) React components into your app? Hell, why learn to code at all when you can just ask Copilot or ChatGPT and copy/paste the result?

Because the result looks and works like shit. That’s why.

The web is in a state of decay. I think we’re on the verge of a renaissance, but it can’t come fast enough.