Keeping up to date with the latest web development trends

Web development is an area of expertise where things change quickly. But, unfortunately, not much stays the same. In a world where decision fatigue is expected, and the internet throws you stuff at the speed of light, having the proper resources might help reduce the number of triggers thrown at your brain.

Do I need to stay updated?

Being a web developer and not enjoying web development is a hard thing to do. So if you're a web developer, you should find something to do that motivates you. Businesses are not waiting for you. It's in your best interest to stay up-to-date. Sticking to what you know means falling behind.

I'm not here trying to scare you. I'm in the same boat, and sometimes it feels like a lot is going on to filter through. For one, it's OK not to know everything. It's more important to follow what you like and keep you motivated. An overload of information will do the opposite. I will share some things to stay up-to-date and motivated to learn something. Learning things and going outside your comfort zone once in a while is fun!

Get to know people

There are a lot of developers in the world. And a lot of them are visible throughout the internet. I'm far from the biggest fan of social media, but Twitter is an excellent resource for staying up-to-date with web development.

I made a new Twitter profile, and I started following only those who share web dev-related stuff.

Scrolling through my timeline brings me joy because I discover stuff I wouldn't have had without it. It shows me things I like because I only follow the people who interest me. I also follow the platforms I work with because they share when a new update comes out. In other words, Twitter is just a newsfeed to discover stuff.

Looking at people's GitHub profiles also gives you a ton of information. I discovered prisma.io just browsing someone's profile, and I thought, this looks fun.

Listen to people

Podcasts seem to become popular at the moment. That's because they are fun to listen to. Even for web development, there are a lot of podcasts out there.

I wrote a blog post about web development podcasts long ago, and I still listen to the same ones. I think listening to people talking about the stuff you love is fun. Sometimes people talk about stuff where you think: Well, I'll look that up!

Subscribe to GitHub threads

When you browse through GitHub, you will undoubtedly end up in an issue thread. If it's about a topic you care about, subscribe to it. You can always unsubscribe the moment you stop caring about the issue. Your interests will change with time, so there is nothing wrong with subscribing/unsubscribing.

Discord

Discord is well known, especially in the gaming community, but Discord is so much more than that. It's a tool for creating communities.

A lot of open-source projects have got a discord community. And I have been helped fast by asking a question in those. The only problem with Discord is that it does not get indexed by Google and other search engines. As an example, someone helped me with an issue. It will be harder to find a solution when another developer has the same problem. So it's a bit of a golden cage.

Slack

Like discord communities, some open source projects have their community based on Slack. However, Slack has similar pros and cons to Discord: you're getting help fast, but it's harder to track solutions to other people's issues.

Conclusion

It's essential to stay up-to-date when you call yourself a web developer. Especially when it comes to new features, technologies, trends, tools, best practices, and so much more, it's OK not to know everything there is to know because otherwise, you will burn yourself out. In other words, it's essential to have the right resources to stay motivated, learn, and, most importantly, keep up-to-date.

I've listed the most significant resources I use, and maybe they inspire you to find your own.