Web Development Trends in 2024: What Developers Need to Know

As a principal engineer who has observed the evolution of web technologies over the years, I remain both excited and cautious about the latest trends shaping our field. In 2024, technologies like AI, serverless architectures, and modern frameworks are at the forefront, guiding how we create efficient, secure, and user-centric web experiences.

AI: More Than Just Chatbots

Artificial Intelligence has evolved far beyond simple chat automation. Today, AI algorithms drive personalised user experiences, tailoring content and interface adjustments to individual preferences. Automated QA tools leverage AI for early bug detection, while predictive analytics optimise performance and anticipate user needs. Incorporating AI into our development workflows is no longer a luxury but a requirement for staying competitive.

Serverless Computing

Serverless computing continues to be a major disruptor. Platforms such as AWS Lambda and Azure Functions let developers focus purely on code, without dealing with infrastructure. This approach not only reduces costs but also scales seamlessly based on demand, simplifying deployments. However, developers need to address concerns like latency and cold-start times to ensure optimal performance.

Low-Code and No-Code Platforms

There was a time when writing custom HTML and CSS from scratch was a mark of pride. Now, low-code and no-code tools are transforming development by enabling rapid prototyping and even empowering non-developers to create functional websites. While traditional coding remains vital, these platforms are invaluable for speeding up development, particularly for MVPs and in-house applications.

Jamstack and WebAssembly

Jamstack architecture is fundamentally reshaping web development by decoupling the frontend from the backend, which results in faster and more secure web applications. Static site generation combined with APIs for dynamic content provides lightning-quick performance. WebAssembly (Wasm) is another game-changer, enabling near-native execution of languages like C++ and Rust directly in the browser, making complex web apps feasible and performant.

Conclusion

The web development landscape in 2024 is all about striking a balance between embracing innovation and maintaining efficiency. Developers must leverage new technologies thoughtfully to deliver exceptional user experiences while keeping an eye on the fundamentals of clean, scalable code. Stay flexible, keep upskilling, and remember: good development practice never goes out of style.

Deno 2.0 - Mono-repos and workspaces

 This article will cover configuring a mono-repo, workspaces, vite and a library package all in Deno 2.0

Project structure:

`deno task dev` will spin up a sample vite website, where we can see the library being consumed.

We'll do this in a few steps.  First we'll create the base Deno mono-repo, then we'll create the simple-login library. And lastly a vite website and hook it all together.

Firstly, ensure you have Deno runtime installed on your machine.  I'll do a separate article on configuring this within Docker containers.

Check: https://docs.deno.com/runtime/

Then

• Create a new folder called `deno-monorepo`
• Create a file called `deno.json` inside it.
• Add the following contents into it:

{

  "workspace": ["./simple-login", "./website"],

  "imports": {

    "@std/path": "jsr:@std/path@^1.0.7"

  },

  "tasks": {

    "dev": "deno run -A npm:vite website"

  }

}

https://github.com/williamcameron/deno-monorepo

Don’t Look Back in Anger: Mastering the Art of High-Demand Ticketing Events

 In today's fast-paced digital landscape, ensuring the seamless operation of online services during high-demand events is paramount. The complexity of managing platforms like Ticketmaster, especially during major ticket releases, like Oasis 2025, cannot be overstated. The stakes are high, not just in terms of revenue but also in maintaining customer trust and brand reputation.

Anticipation and Preparation

The journey begins long before the event date is announced. It starts with careful planning, anticipating potential challenges, and preparing for all possible scenarios. This involves understanding the scope of the event, the expected traffic, and the unique demands it might place on our systems.

Capacity planning is a critical component of this phase. Estimating the expected load is both an art and a science, requiring historical data analysis, understanding current market trends, and considering external factors that could drive traffic spikes. Once we have a reasonable estimate, the next step is ensuring that our infrastructure can handle this load with room to spare. This often means scaling up servers, optimizing databases, and ensuring our content delivery networks (CDNs) are primed to handle the increased demand.

Equally important is load testing. Simulating the event conditions allows us to identify potential bottlenecks and address them proactively. This might involve fine-tuning our systems, updating software, or even making more significant architectural changes to ensure we can handle the anticipated demand without compromising on performance.

Maintenance and Monitoring

As the event approaches, the focus shifts to maintenance and real-time monitoring. This phase is about ensuring that everything is in place and functioning as expected. It’s not just about keeping the servers running but about ensuring optimal performance and quick response times.

Real-time monitoring tools are crucial in this phase. They provide visibility into every aspect of the system, from server load and database performance to network latency and user experience. This visibility allows us to identify issues as they arise and address them before they escalate. Additionally, having a robust incident response plan is essential. This plan outlines the steps to take in the event of an issue, ensuring that everyone knows their role and that issues are resolved as quickly as possible.

Another key aspect is communication. Keeping all stakeholders informed, from the technical teams to customer support and even the end-users, ensures that everyone is aligned and that there are no surprises. Transparent communication also helps in managing customer expectations, especially if there are delays or issues during the event.

Post-Event Reflection

Once the event is over, the work doesn’t stop. The post-event phase is about reflection, learning, and continuous improvement. It’s important to conduct a thorough postmortem analysis to understand what went well and what didn’t. This analysis should be comprehensive, covering everything from the technical performance to the team’s response and communication.

The goal of this reflection is not to assign blame but to identify areas for improvement. Whether it’s fine-tuning the load-testing process, enhancing monitoring tools, or improving incident response times, the insights gained from the postmortem analysis are invaluable in ensuring better performance in future events.

Conclusion

Managing an online ticketing platform like Ticketmaster during high-demand events is a complex and challenging task. It requires meticulous planning, real-time monitoring, and a commitment to continuous improvement. By focusing on these areas, we can ensure that our platforms not only meet but exceed expectations, providing a seamless and reliable experience for our customers. The ultimate goal is to maintain trust and deliver a service that stands out, even in the face of immense demand.

Preparing for Your First Frontend Developer Interview: The Essentials

If you're getting ready for your first frontend developer interview and want to focus on the core concepts rather than just memorising questions, you're on the right track. Here's a quick guide to the minimum essential topics you should be prepared to discuss, with a focus on the logic and understanding that interviewers often look for.

1. HTML/CSS Fundamentals

   - What to Expect: Basic structure of HTML documents, common tags, semantic HTML, and understanding of CSS selectors, layouts (Flexbox, Grid), and responsive design principles.

   - Logic Focus: Be ready to explain how and why you structure your HTML and CSS in certain ways. For example, why would you use a `<section>` instead of a `<div>`? Or how does Flexbox solve layout issues in responsive designs?

2. JavaScript Basics

   - What to Expect: Core JavaScript concepts like variables, data types, loops, functions, and event handling. Be prepared for questions on DOM manipulation and possibly simple algorithmic challenges.

   - Logic Focus: Understand how JavaScript works under the hood—such as the difference between `var`, `let`, and `const`, or how closures and scope work. You might be asked to solve simple problems, like reversing a string or sorting an array, so make sure you understand the logic behind these operations.

3. Basic React Concepts (or Other Relevant Framework)

   - What to Expect: If you mention React on your resume, expect questions on component lifecycle, state management, and props. If you’re more familiar with another framework, be ready to discuss its equivalent concepts.

   - Logic Focus: Know how to build and structure components logically. For example, why would you use functional components over class components? How do you decide when to lift state up or use context?

4. Version Control with Git

   - What to Expect: Basic Git commands and workflow (clone, commit, push, pull, branching). You might be asked about your experience with version control in collaborative projects.

   - Logic Focus: Understand why version control is important. Be able to explain what happens behind the scenes when you commit changes or resolve merge conflicts.

5. Problem-Solving and Debugging

   - What to Expect: You might face practical coding problems or debugging scenarios. This could involve finding and fixing errors in a piece of code or writing a small function to solve a specific problem.

   - Logic Focus: Focus on your approach to problem-solving—how you break down a problem, test your solutions, and think through edge cases.

6. Basic Web Performance and Accessibility

   - What to Expect: General questions on how to optimize websites for performance and accessibility. Topics might include image optimisation, lazy loading, ARIA roles, and semantic HTML for screen readers.

   - Logic Focus: Understand the importance of performance and accessibility from the user’s perspective. Be ready to explain the trade-offs and benefits of different optimisation techniques.

Final Tips

- Practice Explaining Your Thought Process: Interviewers want to see how you think, not just whether you know the right answer. Practice talking through your logic for solving problems or making design decisions.

- Focus on the Basics: Master the fundamentals, as these are often the building blocks of more complex questions.

- Stay Calm and Curious: Interviews can be stressful, but remember that it’s also a learning experience. If you don’t know an answer, show curiosity and a willingness to learn.

By focusing on these core areas, you'll be well-prepared to demonstrate your foundational knowledge and problem-solving abilities during your interview. Good luck!

Ensuring Digital Excellence During the UEFA European Championship: A Strategic Approach to Service Reliability

As we approach the UEFA European Football Championship, the stakes are high not just on the field but also behind the scenes. Our responsibility is to ensure a seamless digital experience for millions of users who will engage with our service throughout the tournament. This involves a multifaceted approach—preparation, real-time maintenance, and a thorough postmortem analysis—that requires both technical expertise and strategic foresight.

Preparation: Anticipating Demand and Scaling Accordingly

The first phase is all about preparation. As soon as the event schedule is released, we begin modeling traffic projections. This involves analyzing historical data, understanding peak times during previous tournaments, and incorporating any new variables that might influence user behavior this year, such as the rise of mobile streaming or new markets with increasing interest in football.

Once we have a clear picture of the expected demand, the focus shifts to scaling our infrastructure. We can't afford to under-provision; doing so would risk downtime, which is unacceptable during a high-profile event. On the other hand, over-provisioning is not cost-effective. Therefore, we employ elastic scaling strategies that allow our systems to expand and contract based on real-time demand.

Beyond infrastructure, we rigorously test our systems under simulated load conditions. This means running stress tests that mimic the kind of traffic spikes we expect to see, especially during key matches. The objective is to identify and address any bottlenecks or potential points of failure before they have a chance to impact our users.

Real-Time Maintenance: Staying Vigilant

As the tournament kicks off, the emphasis shifts to real-time monitoring and rapid response. Despite all the preparation, unexpected issues can arise. This is why we employ a robust monitoring framework that provides granular visibility into system performance, user activity, and potential anomalies. 

Our teams are on high alert, operating around the clock to respond to any issues that arise. Communication is key here; we ensure that all stakeholders are kept informed about system status, ongoing issues, and the actions being taken to resolve them. Decision-making during this phase must be swift, but also calculated, balancing the need for quick fixes with the long-term stability of the system.

Additionally, we must be mindful of external factors that could influence performance, such as DDoS attacks or third-party service outages. Contingency plans are in place to mitigate these risks, including rerouting traffic, scaling additional resources, and working closely with external vendors to ensure that any dependencies are as resilient as our core systems.

Postmortem: Learning and Evolving

Once the final whistle blows and the tournament concludes, the work doesn't stop. The postmortem phase is crucial for long-term success. We conduct a thorough review of our performance during the event, focusing on what went well and where there were challenges.

This is not just a technical review but a comprehensive evaluation involving all teams. We analyze our monitoring data, gather feedback from stakeholders, and discuss how effectively we executed our contingency plans. The goal is to identify opportunities for improvement, whether that involves refining our scaling strategies, enhancing our monitoring tools, or improving team coordination.

Documenting these findings is essential. They serve as a valuable resource for future events, ensuring that we continue to evolve and adapt. We also share key insights with the broader organization to promote a culture of continuous improvement.

Conclusion: Excellence Through Preparation and Agility

Ensuring the success of our service during the UEFA European Football Championship is a testament to our commitment to excellence. It requires meticulous preparation, vigilant real-time management, and a willingness to learn and improve. By embracing these principles, we not only meet the high expectations of our users but also set the stage for success in future events.

The Benefits of Using URL State Management in React

As React developers with a few years under your belt, you're likely familiar with the challenges of state management. While libraries like Redux have long been the go-to solution, they aren't always the best fit for every application. URL state management, an often-overlooked alternative, can offer several benefits in specific scenarios. In this article, we'll explore what URL state management is, its advantages, and how it compares to traditional state management in React and using Redux.

What is URL State Management?

URL state management leverages the browser's URL to store and manage state. Instead of keeping the state in React's local component state, context, or a global state like Redux, you encode the state directly in the URL. This approach makes the application stateful and provides a unique way to manage state in your React applications.

Pros of URL State Management

1. Better User Experience with Deep Linking

   - Explanation: URL state management enables deep linking, allowing users to bookmark, share, or revisit specific states of your application directly. For example, a filter applied on a product list or a specific page view can be encoded in the URL.

   - Benefit: This leads to a more user-friendly experience where users can navigate back to exact states without reapplying filters or going through multiple steps.

2. Enhanced SEO

   - Explanation: When important state data is stored in the URL, search engines can index those URLs, improving the discoverability of specific content within your application.

   - Benefit: This can be especially useful for content-heavy applications like blogs or e-commerce sites where each filtered view or user action represents valuable, searchable content.

3. Simplified State Management

   - Explanation: For certain types of state (e.g., filters, pagination, or sort orders), URL state management can be simpler and more intuitive than setting up a complex Redux store or React context.

   - **Benefit:** This reduces the need for additional libraries and middleware, potentially leading to a smaller bundle size and simpler codebase.

4. Better Collaboration with Back-end Services

   - Explanation: Since URLs are inherently shareable, they can easily be passed between front-end and back-end services without additional parsing or state management on the server.

   - Benefit: This can simplify API design and integration, allowing back-end services to generate URLs that the front-end can directly consume.

Cons of URL State Management

1. Limited to Simple State

   - Explanation: URL state management is well-suited for simple, serializable state. However, as the state becomes more complex, encoding it in a URL can become cumbersome and unwieldy.

   - Drawback: This limits its usefulness to applications where the state is relatively simple, such as search queries or pagination, and is not suitable for more complex states like user authentication or nested state objects.

2. URL Length Limitations

   - Explanation: Browsers typically have a limit on the length of URLs (around 2000 characters for most browsers). Encoding too much state information in the URL can quickly exceed this limit.

   - Drawback: If your state management needs surpass this limit, you'll either have to truncate data (losing important state) or find alternative solutions, reducing the feasibility of using URL state.

3. Potential Security Concerns

   - Explanation: Since URL state is visible and can be easily manipulated by users, sensitive state data shouldn't be stored in the URL. This is not only a security risk but can also lead to bugs or unexpected behaviour if users manually alter URLs.

   - Drawback: This requires developers to be cautious and ensure that only non-sensitive, non-critical state is managed through the URL, complicating state management strategy.

4. Browser and User Constraints

   - Explanation: Users can alter URLs manually, leading to unexpected states or errors if the application isn't designed to handle such cases gracefully.

   - Drawback: This adds an additional layer of complexity in validation and error handling, which can offset some of the simplicity gained by using URL state management.

Comparison with Traditional State Management and Redux

Traditional State Management

- Pros: Easy to implement for local state, no URL length concerns, secure for sensitive data.

- Cons: Not shareable or bookmark-able, no built-in deep linking, requires additional effort to sync state with URL for navigation purposes.

Redux

- Pros: Centralised state management, suitable for complex applications, well-suited for large-scale apps.

- Cons: Increased boilerplate, requires learning curve and setup, not inherently URL-friendly without middleware or additional libraries.

Conclusion

URL state management isn't a one-size-fits-all solution, but it offers unique benefits that can enhance both the user experience and the developer experience when used appropriately. By leveraging the URL for state management, you can create more user-friendly, SEO-optimised, and simpler applications for specific use cases. However, be mindful of its limitations and consider combining it with traditional state management or Redux for more complex scenarios.

For applications where deep linking, SEO, and simplicity are paramount, URL state management can be an excellent alternative to traditional methods. But for more complex state requirements, the tried-and-true Redux or traditional React state management might still be your best bet.