front end developer resources

Must-Read Front-End Development Blogs and Influencers In 2019

Each software engineer and programmer who wants to develop as a high-caliber professional should be well-versed in the ocean of relevant content and be able to choose those resources and technology evangelists who can make the biggest impact on their professional evolution. To ease the task, we’ve talked to front-end developers at 8allocate and put together a list of must-read blogs and influencers whose content provides the best value in terms of tips and hacks, insights and advise that can help make front-end development processes a breeze and fun for programmers.

Front-end development blogs and media resources

  • Smashing Magazine is a popular online magazine dedicated to web dev and design, and contains a lot of cool tips and tricks for front-end development. It has 1.95 million monthly visitors as of August 2019, according to Similar Web.
  • CSS-Tricks is created and maintained by Chris Coyier and his team of writing geeks. The blog publishes daily articles about CSS, HTML, JavaScript, and all things related to web design and front-end development.
  • CSS {IRL} CSS In Real Life is a blog covering CSS topics and useful snippets on HTML. The blog is run by Michelle Barker, front-end developer at Ordoo, CSS superfan, and a Mozilla Tech Speaker.
  • Web Platform News is a daily news blog covering all things related to web and front-end development. It’s run by Šime Vidas who’s also a contributor to CSS-Tricks.
  • A Book Apart publishes detailed, meticulously edited examinations of single topics in two formats: eBook and briefs. From progressive web apps and conversational design to web front dev and animations – you can find cool content that will definitely add value to and spice up your front-end dev skills. Oh, and don’t forget to sign up for their newsletter to stay tuned on each new publication!
  • HackerNoon is a new-generation media resource that provides absolutely free access to top-notch publications on many technology topics including front-end dev, design, CSS and HTML, web app dev, etc.
  • DZone is really huge! Having over 6 million readers as of August 2019, the resource is a one-stop hub for tech content covering nearly everything from DevOps and AI to web dev, security, and open source. You can also apply to be their contributor and who knows, maybe we’ll feature you as a must-read front-end development influencer in our next article!

Top front-end development influencers and evangelists

We’ve compiled a list of influencers based on the number of their Twitter followers, professional background and achievements, and brands they work or have worked for before.

  • Mathias Bynens is a Google developer working on V8js, Google’s high-performance open-source JavaScript and WebAssembly engine.
  • Jake Archibald is a “Googler”, web developer and Google Chrome advocate, one of Google’s top performing web dev experts, avid tech speaker and author of comprehensive reports on unique topics like “Who has the fastest website in Formula One”.
  • Monica Dinculescu calls herself “Emojineer” and is currently working on a Google project called  Magenta, which is an open-source research initiative exploring the role of machine learning in fostering creative processes.
  • Tim Kadlec is a web performance consultant who runs several podcasts on Spotify and Google where he talks to people whose mission is to make a faster web.
  • Léonie is a Co-Founder of W3C Web Platform WG whose mission is “to continue the development of the HTML language and provide specifications that enable improved client-side application development on the Web, including application programming interfaces (APIs) for client-side development and markup vocabularies for describing and controlling client-side application behavior.”
  • Eric Meyer is a famous speakers at tech events such as An Event Apart and an author of many books, articles and web resources for HTML and CSS developers. You can learn more about him in his personal blog.
  • Una Kravets is a web evangelist and Google advocate and an advocate of material design.
  • Harry Roberts is an independent web performance consultant  working with such big brand names as Google, United Nations, Etsy, BBC, Unilever, Deloitte and others.
  • Alex Russell is a Chrome web standards tech lead, W3C member and developer of ECMA TC39 which is a JavaScript standard.
  • Surma is a Google web evangelist blogging mostly about how Google is better and cooler than Apple
  • Jen Simmons is a design advocate at Mozilla, a member of CSS Working Group and a big proponent of CSS Grid as a major game changer in web design.
  • Martin Splitt is a Google developer and “web cheerleader” who tweets a lot about JavaScript and open source in general.
  • Maximiliano Firtman is an indie developer of mobile and web apps, mentor and speaker specialized in progressive web, performance, mobility and different web dev platforms.
  • Rachel Andrew is Chief Editor of Smashing Magazine, a web developer and CSS Working Group member. She has a lot of video tutorials that will be useful for both junior and seasoned front-end developers.
  • Roma Komarov is a CSS developer who founded Hayaku, a bundle of useful scripts aiming for rapid front-end web development, bemto-components, bemto for Pug.js, etc.
  • Addy Osmani is an engineering manager and Speed Team Lead working on Google Chrome project. He blogs and tweets a lot about how to speed up web apps as well as shares checklists and cheatsheets to help front-end developers save time and avoid reinventing the wheel.

What other front-end dev blogs, media and influencers would you add to this list? Please mention them in the Comments and let’s expand the list together!

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