Specification over code, the browser as a capable client, design systems as infrastructure, and the rise of open automation. A lifetime ago, when I wrote A Dao of Web Design, I argued for working with the grain of the medium. The grain is changing again. Here are four trends that, taken together, define this moment. […]
Scroll‑driven animations, view transitions, OPFS, WebGPU, Passkeys & FedCM: where they’re ready and how to adopt them safely The web platform continues to evolve and gain capabilities more quickly than we’re able to keep up. At our Developer Summit, we will focus on some of those key features that have recently landed or are about […]
TL;DR: We’ve been using the wrong metaphor for AI in development. It’s not just a power tool that makes us more productive—that’s a sustaining innovation mindset. The better analogy is the surgeon: someone with deep foundational knowledge, embodied expertise from thousands of cases, and the judgment to make critical decisions. As AI handles more of the […]
It’s been another busy week here at Web Directions as we prepare for those three upcoming conferences at the end of November. That hasn’t stopped us gathering another crop of great articles, interviews, and more to keep you up to date. Check out the programmes, and we’d love to see you there in person or […]
Back in early September 2022, so over three years ago now and weeks before ChatGPT came out, I wrote this article. For some reason, I never published it. I’m not entirely sure why. Perhaps a version of it ended up in my newsletter. I don’t know. But in it, I said to people, playing with […]
How to keep velocity while reducing risk: BFFs, capability boundaries, feature flags, and evidence‑driven rollouts. The hardest part of modern front‑end isn’t the framework—it’s the shape of the system. As AI‑assisted workflows arrive, we need architecture that absorbs change without multiplying risk. Here are some of the related topics we’ll be focusing on at our […]
A pragmatic guide to how AI is impacting the practice of front‑end development: agents, MCP, and how to thread them into the work you already do. AI is edging into the daily work of front‑end teams—component libraries, design reviews, code review, testing, even the architecture decisions that shape our products. So, our Developer Summit is […]
Three major shifts have defined web development over the past twenty-five years. The web standards movement of the early 2000s gave us systematic approaches to structure, presentation, and behaviour. The framework revolution of the 2010s fundamentally changed how we architect applications. Now we’re at the threshold of a third transformation—one that may prove more profound […]
This week we have a great roundup of articles across the spectrum of things that we typically pay attention to here. From design to front-end architectures, AI software engineering to accessibility, there’s plenty here to keep you engaged and thinking about what comes next, regardless of your role. We’re also in the run home to […]
The web platform is evolving faster than many developers realise. New APIs, CSS capabilities, and authentication methods are landing in browsers right now—not distant specifications, but production-ready technologies you can use today. At Web Directions Developer Summit this November, we’re exploring these emerging technologies with the engineers building them. CSS: From Styling to Storytelling CSS […]
There’s no doubt this is a challenging time. Budgets are reduced, belts are being tightened. But, we’re witnessing something unprecedented in web development. Not a gradual evolution, but a fundamental restructuring of how we build for the web—one that will reshape the profession more dramatically in the next 18 months than the previous two decades […]
The architecture of web applications is undergoing a fundamental transformation. More than a simple migration from old to new, a fundamental rethinking about how we structure, deliver, and reason about web software. At Web Directions Developer Summit this November, we’re bringing together practitioners who are actively reshaping these patterns in production to help you chart […]
Last week was a very big one at Web Directions. We launched Web Directions To Go, that brings our conference experience to your team’s conference room. Premium content, professional production, zero travel. And we announced that performance.now() the world leading web performance conference is headed to Conffab–you can stream live on October 30 and 31 […]
The discourse around AI in development sometimes seem to be a struggle between breathless evangelism and dismissive skepticism. At our Developer Summit this November we’ll help you understand what’s actually happening beneath the surface, with real-world use cases and experitise to help you shape how you and your team are adopting these technologies.. Demystifying the […]
The pandemic didn’t just disrupt conferences—it forced us to completely rethink them. When in-person events became impossible, we didn’t just have speakers on Zoom calls with their webcams. We rethought and rebuilt everything from the ground up: dynamic multi-camera production, professional real-time editing, purpose-built chat and Q&A systems, and most recently, live captioning that works […]
Web Directions South is the must-attend event of the year for anyone serious about web development
Phil Whitehouse General Manager, DT Sydney
