It was a day dedicated to the World Wide Web. Not just the foundational languages of the web—HTML, CSS, and JavaScript—but also the foundational ideas of the web.
“Share what you know!” That was the original motto of the World Wide Web project. That was the motto of Web Day Out, too.
Look, I’m biased because I put the line-up together, but honestly, all of the speakers were superb! So much knowledge delivered in such entertaining fashion.
I had a blast. And I’ll give myself a little pat on the back for how I grouped the talks into rhyming couplets:
Browsers: Jemima talked about what you can do with just HTML and CSS these days, and Rachel followed up with how to come up with your own browser support strategy.
Performance: Aleth made the case for multi-page progressive web apps that work under any network conditions, and Harry followed up with an impassioned rant about how much time and energy has been wasted on over-engineered single-page apps that ignore what browsers can do.
Styling: Manuel walked us through a whole new approach to writing modern CSS, and Rich followed up with a whirlwind tour of all the great typographic possibilities in CSS.
Standards Jake took us on the standards journey to customisable select elements, including anchor positioning and popovers, and then Lola showed us exactly what it takes to add a new feature to a web browser.
Everything flowed together really nicely.
I was a little apprehensive going into Web Day Out that it would just be preaching to the converted. And sure, there were plenty of veteran devs there who already knew the value of progressive enhancement and making the most of web standards. But I was gratified to also see lots of younger faces in the crowd.
One of those young faces was our very own senior design engineer, Sam O’Neill
“Getting to spend a day with my fellow developers and engineers unashamedly nerding out about all the wonderful and exciting things that are new on the web was a real treat. I left feeling inspired and energised.
Many of the talks got deep into the detail of the latest enhancements that've been brought to the web. Lots of what-to-do, and how-to-do-it. I left with dozens of notes, photos, and code snippets. Several of which I was able to put straight into practice when I came back to work the following week.
The day was nicely punctuated by a smattering of more philosophical talks. We were encouraged to "stay close to the metal" of the web, and use the browser "as a playground". It was very refreshing to hear this praise for the platform and be reminded of just how capable it is these days.
Speaking with friends old and new during the breaks and after the event, I was positively reassured by people's willingness both to make the most of the platform as it stands now, and to contribute to making it even better in the future.”
If you couldn’t make it to Web Day Out and you want to experience some RAMO, here’s just a handful of wonderful write-ups and feedback we’ve enjoyed reading from Amber Wilson, Calum Ryan, Pedro Martin Valera and Dave Letorey. Alongside some lovely photos by Marc Thiele.
Thank you so much to everyone who came. I think you’ll agree it was a most excellent (web) day out.
