I just finished reading this article on developer experience (DX) and how it usually comes at the expense of user experience. It articulates the exhaustion that many of us have felt in the last few years of having to constantly re-learn the fundamentals of the tools we use.

This is pretty much the reason that I’ve gravitated back towards PHP, WordPress and, of course, web fundamentals. Each of these things prioritises the end user experience over the developer experience… but here’s the thing; the developer experience with these tools is actually really enjoyable anyway!

It’s not that I don’t like some of the JS frameworks, I just got sick of constantly having to re-learn them when they have their yearly change. I’d rather put that energy into creating more value for users.

The cynic in me would say that the constant focus of JS frameworks on reinventing themselves every year is partially to fuel the learning industry that pops up around it – creating celebrity developers that make money from teaching you how to use said tech and by extension end up marketing it too…

These days I find more joy in using less tools and I find the results are usually better.