(And How We Learned From Them)

Let's face it the internet moves at a frantic pace, and staying up with trends can be a challenge. This is especially true for those of us who work in web development. There always seems to be some new technology, trends or platforms we need to learn to stay relevant. It can be tough to keep up, and sometimes we make mistakes. Here are some dumb things we've done in our careers as web developers and the lessons learned from them.

1. Not Learning About New Technologies Sooner

When we started web development, we knew the basics and worked within that knowledge. We thought that if something wasn’t broken, there was no need to fix it or learn about something new. As time passed, we realized this thinking was outdated and prevented us from becoming better developers.

Nowadays, we make it a point to investigate and learn about new technologies as soon as they come out. This allows me to stay ahead of the curve and utilize the latest and greatest tools in my work.

2. Relying Too Heavily on Libraries and Frameworks

Once upon a time, we relied too heavily on libraries and frameworks to do all the heavy lifting. This made our code very bloated and difficult to read. It also made it difficult for us to understand what was happening under the hood.

Now, we only use libraries and frameworks when necessary. This has helped us write cleaner and more efficient code.

3. Not Asking For Help Soon Enough

When we first started, we were too proud to ask for help. We thought asking for help meant we weren’t smart enough to figure things out independently.

However, as time went on, we realized that everyone needs help from time to time. Asking for help doesn’t make you dumb; it makes you human. Now, we ask for help whenever needed, and we've found that it has made me a better developer overall.

4. Not Keeping Up With Industry Trends

When we started in web development, I ignored industry trends. We thought that as long as our code worked, that was all that mattered.

However, I quickly realized that this thinking was outdated. To be a successful developer, you must stay up-to-date with industry trends. This allows you to provide your clients with the best possible product.

5. Not Networking Enough

When we first started, our focus was the work, and we didn’t take the time to network with other developers. We thought that networking was a waste of time and that we could focus on our work and be successful.

However, we quickly realized that networking is one of the most important things you can do as a developer. It allows you to meet other people in your industry and learn from them. It also allows you to get your name out there and build up a reputation.

6. Taking On Too Much Work

In the early days of our careers, we were so eager to please everyone that we took on way more work than we could handle. This led to working long hours and burning ourselves out. We made a lot more mistakes in the process.

Now, I’ve learned to be more selective with the projects we take on. We only take on projects we know we can handle and are passionate about. This has helped create better work and maintain a healthier work-life balance.

7. Not Learning How to Use Version Control

Version control is a tool that every developer should know how to use. However, when we started, we had no idea what version control was or how to use it.

As a result, we ended up losing a lot of our work and having to start from scratch. We've since learned how to use version control, which has saved us a lot of time and headaches.

8. Not Planning Ahead

When we first started, we would dive into projects headfirst without planning. This often led to us getting bogged down and losing sight of the project goals.

Now, We take the time to plan before starting any project. This helps us stay focused and on track, saving us a lot of time in the long run.

9. Not Learning How to Debug Code

Debugging is an essential skill for any developer. However, when we started, we had no idea how to debug our code. We would hope that the code worked, and if it didn’t, I was at a loss.

We’ve since learned how to debug our code, which has saved us a lot of time and frustration. We can now quickly fix any issues and move on with other projects.

10. Being Afraid to experiment

In the early days of our careers, We were so afraid of making mistakes that we didn’t experiment. We were too worried about breaking things or making something that wasn’t perfect.

Since then, we've realized that mistakes are inevitable and can be helpful. Mistakes allow you to learn and grow as a developer. They help you find new ways of doing things and allow you to become more creative.

So now, we embrace mistakes and use them as opportunities to learn and grow.

These are some of the dumb things we’ve done in our careers as web developers.

The mistakes made in web development can generally be grouped into three categories:

• not keeping up with the latest trends,
• outdated thinking,
• and not learning from others.

I’m sure there are many more that we’ve forgotten about or haven’t realized yet.

But what I know is that from all these mistakes, we are better developers.