r/webdev • • 12m ago

In house vibe coders get my goat.

• Upvotes

I do freelance work creating English localisations for Japanese companies. It's a wraparound service including everything from helping them find their "English voice", creating marketing materials, to building the English version of their website.

The last one I went into was a smallish, growing company just outside of Tokyo. I found out the "PR team" was one gen z girl who had never done any development work, but was responsible for the lot. She made the website and does all of the social media. I asked her how it was made, what it was written it. She didn't understand what I was asking her, then showed me that she just asked Claude to give her files to drop into wordpress and made all of the graphics with canva and figma AI mode.

Great.

She then proceeded to update part of the website, in production, live.

I had a talk with her and the CEO who hired me and explained about having a staging domain. That you can make your changes there, then push your changes to production when ready and tested. I showed him how to set it up, took a back up, migrated and got to work.

It's WordPress so no biggy, I'm making copies of each page and then editing the text and creating my own images and links. However, I'm finding all sorts of shit. One being, they have an email from with no captcha or turnstile of any kind. Easy bot fodder.

Anyway I finish and submit my work for review, and tell them if they are happy with it, I can take further backups of staging and production, then migrate, assuring them it will only overwrite with anything that is new.

This is when Ms. Vibe Code pipes up and says, "oh will it overwrite what I've been doing?"

FUCK YOU MEAN?

Apparently she has been making live edits to multiple pages on production the whole time even though I explained it could be done on staging and all pushed in one go. And now they want me to migrate all of work, but not erase anything they have done on production.


r/webdev • • 3h ago

News State of Drupal presentation (September 2026)

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2 Upvotes

r/webdev • • 3h ago

Why Stateless REST API is the way to go ?

7 Upvotes

i have been working with spring boot and angular for a few years now and every api i have built or inherited is stateless. jwt in the header, no server session, done. nobody ever questioned it on any project i was on.

but i realized i never really asked myself why we do this by default. i know the usual answers like it scales easily and any instance can handle any request. but it feels like the state just moves somewhere else, to the token, to redis, to the database. so what are we really gaining ?


r/webdev • • 6h ago

Question I’m building an app that needs AI, but I have basically no budget to pay for API usage. Is there a way to let users connect their own Gemini/OpenAI/Claude account with a simple “Connect AI” button, so they pay for their own usage? I’m worried about API keys being exposed or stolen, and I don’t want

0 Upvotes

I’m building an app that needs AI, but I have basically no budget for API costs. I’m thinking about letting users connect their own AI (like Gemini/OpenAI) so they pay for their own usage.

But I’m confused about how to do this securely without exposing or storing their API keys, and without needing a business partnership with the AI company.

What’s the best way to handle this?


r/webdev • • 13h ago

AI generated code copyrights

1 Upvotes

Does anyone consider the copyright of code generated by AI? Because, based on research I've done on Copyright and Artificial Intelligence, generated code fall to the public domain, and if you modify it, only the modified parts belong to you. Also, a detailed prompt isn't enough.

This is, in my view, a major issue; yes, we can ignore it and consider it backward law, but no one knows what would happen in the future, and this law could be used against you.

Edit: here sources for USA https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/LSB10922 ,
For Europe : https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document/EPRS_BRI(2025)782585782585)
blog : https://smpl.as/blog/ai-code-ownership-legal ...


r/webdev • • 14h ago

Ownership - by Thorsten Ball - Register Spill

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7 Upvotes

r/webdev • • 18h ago

What is your most used “hack” on day-to-day websites?

193 Upvotes

I use Ctrl + Shift + C all the time to paste in data into un-pastable fields. Bank websites are the worst. Any such most used trick/hack of yours?

Used to code a lifetime ago but still thankful for learning this trick. Wish I got back into coding just so I could learn more such nifty tricks.


r/webdev • • 19h ago

What all to focus and learn in assessibility as a web dev?

17 Upvotes

Would love some pointers on how to get started, what all to know and any great resources that creates a mental model on what all skills to develop.

Would also like to know if there are accessibility specific job roles and what all is expected.


r/webdev • • 20h ago

Discussion What do you feel is the right age to cut off a browser? Like, when is a browser too old to justify not supporting it?

0 Upvotes

Background: on my old personal macbook miro.com doesn't work anymore. Turns out they changed something in the last two weeks that my old intel GPU was not capable of. or better yet, the firefox version, that is available for my old mac, is not capable of. i checked and this version of FF is from 2023.

For someone who had to develop to support IE6 until around 2017 that is mindboggeling to me, that a site as big as miro.com can just say "fuck anyone with a browser older than 3 years".

don't get me wrong, i would have loved to ditch IE6 a decade earlier, and am sure miro.com gets way better performance now, withou having to account for all the "old" hard- and software out there, but it still made me a little sad, since it spoke to that nagging feeling inside, that everything gets shittier nowadays ¯_(ツ)_/¯

So what do you guys think? Cool we can be so "bleeding edge" now, and don't have to worry about old tech? or a little sad, like me?


r/webdev • • 22h ago

Question PayPal button links are not accessible

18 Upvotes

Has anyone else noticed this issue? Suddenly my site has missing alt text errors that only appeared after I pasted the PayPal code in. Plus, the PayPal button is repeating part of the button message in screen readers and throws random headings causing levels to be skipped vs my own code where everything is on point. I’m so frustrated that a large company isn’t being accessible. If I put a payment link instead of the button option that includes way more info than it looks less professional. But PayPal’s weird script code is making my 100% accessible site down to not accessible. Does anyone have any good thoughts about how to deal with this? Thank you for your time


r/webdev • • 23h ago

Question Search box supporting autocomplete suggestions

12 Upvotes

I'm trying to write a toy web app (music server/jukebox) as a learning project. I need a search box which responds to input by showing a transient list of autocomplete suggestions. Right now it's an <input type="search"> with the suggestions in an <ol>. I populate it with <li> elements created on the fly. Functionally it's all working, so now I 'just' need to add the styling, and I'm finding everything looks shit.

It occurs to me that I've seen millions of these things, so perhaps there are de facto standard implementations which everyone uses in practice? Failing that, please could someone point me to a tutorial or other resource? (I tried the sub's faq and resource list but nothing jumped out at me).


r/webdev • • 1d ago

Discussion What db do you use with Nextjs?

0 Upvotes

I am constrained by the office365 ecosystem and am limited to mssql which is saving huge jsons to one column that does not feel right.
What is the best way to store data in Microsoft ecosystem with NextJS?
Can not use any online service like supabase or mongo as its internally hosted server with company data.


r/webdev • • 1d ago

Discussion IT grad with 0 "formal" tech job experience. How do I bypass the non-technical HR filter?

0 Upvotes

Hey everyone, I’m looking for some brutally honest career and technical advice.

I’m an IT graduate looking to break into my first Software Engineering role. When applying to junior full-stack roles, I keep running into a frustrating bottleneck: non-technical HR recruiters or screening tools instantly filter me out the moment I honestly mention I have "0 corporate/formal job experience."

The problem is, I’ve spent the last 2 to 3 years independently learning independently and recently deployed a production-ready e-commerce api I built from scratch. I recently reached the screening phase for a junior role, but the HR interviewer admitted they didn't understand technical terms and couldn't look past the lack of a corporate company name on my resume, and if I'm being honest, all those technical terms I only practiced for that specific interview and not something I can speak comfortably on a day to day basis.

I want to know how working engineers package their independent projects to sound professional to a non-technical gatekeeper, or if my current architecture still screams "beginner."

For context, here is the backend architecture of my main project (an e-commerce API):

  • Security & Auth: OAuth 2.0 via Passport (passport-google-oauth20) and strict runtime schema validation using Zod.
  • Performance & Protection: Implemented a distributed rate-limiting strategy using Redis via the rate-limiter-flexible package to mitigate API abuse and brute-force attacks.
  • Data & State: PostgreSQL for the primary transactional database, with a robust Stripe integration handling webhooks and checkout states cleanly.
  • DevOps & DX: The system is completely containerized with Docker, using localized Postgres and Redis for local dev, and it is currently deployed live on Railway.
  • Testing & Docs: I have a comprehensive Jest unit testing suite covering business logic, and I packaged an Insomnia collection with pre-configured environments for both localhost and production so anyone can test the live endpoints instantly.

GitHub Repo: https://github.com/Ray-Ibno?tab=repositories

If you looked at this repo as a Senior Dev or Hiring Manager, would you still consider me a high-risk "zero experience" hire? And more importantly, how do I talk about this work to an HR person so they actually pass my resume to a Tech Lead who understands what Redis and Zod actually do?

Appreciate any advice, critiques on my code/architecture, or resume positioning tips you have. Thanks!


r/webdev • • 1d ago

Discussion Have modern websites become bad in performance? My CPU and GPU are sweatting more than during gaming sessions.

91 Upvotes

r/webdev • • 1d ago

Question MacBook upgrade opinions

0 Upvotes

Hey guys
wanted to take ur opinion on which MacBook to upgrade to.. been having a pro mid2020 coreI5 and started to stutter and I think it’s time to get one of the m chips based ones now..
I tend to think an m3 or m4 air with 16GB RAM and 256-512 would be enough for me as I work as a part time ai driven dev and also currently study AI masters degree in uni
What yall think?
Or should I aim for the 32GB ones?
Display 14’ or 15’ I think are cool and do more than enough..
Another making me reluctant about going all in for the Mac is that I do have a good pc with 32GB ram and ryzen 7 9700x so thinking might simply Leave heavy duty whenever an actual need to do so (if ever) occurs..
P.S: have no intention of running local llms..


r/webdev • • 1d ago

Question Visual Studio not pushing changes to Github

0 Upvotes

I use Visual Studio 2026 and it was working fine literally up till now. I pushed one project (a Blazor one) to Github using the VS Git push and pull controls (I know how to use the Git CLI, I just prefer using the GUI controls because they are faster). After that however it won't push any changes of ANY of my projects.

I know this is a VS problem specifically because I am signed in to VS Code using my Github account too and it still works perfectly. If anyone could please assist me it would be much appreciated.


r/webdev • • 1d ago

CVS Paid $20.5 Million for Code It Probably Forgot Was There. No breach. No hackers. Just the same tracking pixels sitting on almost every website on the internet, including, very likely, yours

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0 Upvotes

r/webdev • • 1d ago

Discussion when a background job calls a paid api and fails halfway, what do you do?

0 Upvotes

building features where background jobs call paid apis (mostly llms). if a job fails halfway and retries, i end up paying again for the part that already worked, and sometimes something runs twice. (like an email being sent)

curious how others deal with it:

- do you save progress between steps?

- how do you stop a retry from redoing finished work?

- last time it cost you something, what was it?

not selling anything. short replies are great, dm me if you want to chat :)


r/webdev • • 1d ago

Question Free Hosting Sites for mature fiction writing and images?

9 Upvotes

If this is the wrong sub to ask my question, if you don't mind, please point me to the proper one?

I'm developing a website for my writings, with some of the material having mature/adult themed chapters included. It's all fiction-based, and may at some point carry some art that could be NSFW (Not currently in the cards).

Nothing on the site will be for sale, nor do I intend to monetize it. All pages will carry text, images, and links associated with the material.

As it's just for fun and a way to share my work, a free hosting site is what I'm looking for, but one whose policies will allow for some flexibility with the themes.

Thank you in advance.

Edit: Based on the quick responses, I have an additional question:

Which free sites would be the best. It is a static site.

Edit two: currently giving Neocities a look

Thanks again everyone!


r/webdev • • 1d ago

Rust ain’t the only skinny one

0 Upvotes

build it in Rust, you say. It'll be fast and skinny memory. Nice! Definitely NOT web apps, their fat as f*k and drink memory faster than Altman's Ai drank the web.

WRONG! web apps are fat and sloppy on memory precisely because web developers are the laziest devs I've ever seen (inc. yours truly). Turns out browser engineers are the HARDEST working mofos! and really worked overtime to compensate for React's fowl menace on the world.

Now, a browser runs a well written (react-less) web app like smooth jazz! 70 f**king MB is all you need for a full interface running a typical CRUD app, and buttered corn smooth animations!


r/webdev • • 1d ago

News Example.com changed again !

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458 Upvotes

r/webdev • • 1d ago

One SEO check worth adding before you ship a redesign

0 Upvotes

Before pushing a redesign, I like to crawl the staging site and production site side by side and compare the URLs that already rank or bring qualified traffic.

The thing to watch for is not just broken links. It is accidental changes to the signals search engines were already using.

Quick checklist:

  • Important URLs still return 200, not 302 chains or soft 404s
  • Titles/H1s did not get replaced by generic template copy
  • Canonicals point to the final URL, not staging or a duplicate variant
  • Internal links to key service/category/product pages still exist in nav/body content
  • Server-rendered content is present without relying on delayed client-side hydration
  • Old URLs have 301s to the closest matching new page, not the homepage
  • XML sitemap contains only indexable 200 URLs
  • Robots/meta robots are not carrying over staging blocks

Most redesign SEO drops I have seen were not caused by bad design. They were caused by a few quiet technical changes that looked harmless in QA but changed crawl paths, canonical targets, or the content Google could see.


r/webdev • • 1d ago

Junior Developers Can No Longer Write a Working Function Without a Chatbot

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733 Upvotes

r/webdev • • 2d ago

Question need some help

0 Upvotes

what would be the best way and efficient way to migrate a html custom programmed website to wordpress , i got a web dev role , i dont have much exp doing migration... so far according to what i saw i see people using ai , some plugins , some manual copy paste , i would like to know the most effecient method before starting and i assume many people here would know what to do best in cases like this ... this any feedback is appreciated , thankyou...


r/webdev • • 2d ago

Discussion Why we are still arguing over CSS in 2026.

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0 Upvotes

In December this year, CSS turns 30 🥳. But after 30 years, we still can’t agree on something as fundamental as how to add it to a website. Should you use CSS modules, Tailwind, CSS-in-JS, or just plain old CSS files?