DEV Community

Cover image for Web Development Is Meant to Be Built, Not Watched

Web Development Is Meant to Be Built, Not Watched

Muhammad Usman on December 30, 2025

Web development isn’t theory-heavy like math or law. It’s interactive by nature. You change a line. You refresh the page. Something breaks, or wo...
Collapse
 
al38andr0 profile image
Alessandro

I mostly agree with this article, but I would like to add a perspective after many years in this job.
I can say that for me, the real fun started when I stopped refreshing the page, because I know that my code works and my tests confirm it. Then, after lines and lines of code, the refresh is just a lovely, satisfying confirmation.
Regarding AI, in my experience, the real fun and learning began when I started questioning its answers. Asking why brought me to a deeper level of understanding, making the copy and paste more meaningful, and expanding my knowledge exponentially.

Collapse
 
web_dev-usman profile image
Muhammad Usman • Edited

The real fun started when things worked, for both good and bad.
Good because it’s good.
Bad is good as well, because we learn a great deal from it more than doing good.

Collapse
 
colin_trierweiler_c58bc2b profile image
Colin Trierweiler

I totally agree with this approach, and I think I will build your "3 stupid projects" just for the fun of it!

Collapse
 
nabin_shrestha_0c2e832076 profile image
Nabin Shrestha

I respect your thoughts.

Collapse
 
stealthj profile image
Idahosa Nosa

I agree with this a lot. Especially the no framework constraint. There's lots of good frameworks which can be used for modals, dropdowns and some UI stuff but being able to build my own version was really helpful. Not that it was as beautiful or practical as professional ones but just to help me understand how they worked.
And u can apply that knowledge to other custom stuff you want to build

Collapse
 
d7460n profile image
D7460N

No framework constraint?

No framework == freedom

No more dependencies
No more forced "happy paths"
No more vendor lock
No more compilation
No more outsourced thinking

Collapse
 
isaac_aliu_dc8a41d0c2d4d5 profile image
Isaac Aliu

Everything you said is motivating me, thank you

Collapse
 
varsha_ojha_5b45cb023937b profile image
Varsha Ojha

“Build something useless” is such underrated advice 😅
Those random tiny projects teach way more than trying to make the “perfect” app.

Collapse
 
abramsoft profile image
Muhammad Abrar

Very well explained and easy to understand. We also share similar knowledge and services around web development, SEO, AI & ML, and digital marketing at abramsoft.com
.