How not to struggle with CSS, with Kevin Powell

05/10/22 • 41 min

🎙 About the episode

Meet Kevin Powell 🇨🇦! Kevin is a CSS Evangelist and educator. He makes weekly YouTube videos, streams on twitch, writes articles, and teaches courses. His mission is to show new developers that CSS is fun and teach them how it works... and why it works the way it does.

In this episode, you'll learn how not to get frustrated with CSS, how to debug it, why people struggle with it, and how come we might never see a launch of CSS 4. Kevin also explains why different browsers render CSS differently and how much should you actually care about that. Alex and Kevin also discuss how the web gets made behind the scenes and how you can join the conversation and suggest the features you'd like to see in certain technologies. Plus: Bad design trends, tools and plugins, CSS memes, and tabs vs spaces.

🔗 Connect with Kevin

⏰ Timestamps

How Kevin found himself in the world of web design (01:28)
Can a new developer focus solely on CSS? (04:26)
What is a CSS Evangelist? (07:12)
Why do people struggle with CSS? (09:04)
Why CSS works the way it does (12:15)
CSS tools you should use (14:12)
CSS extensions for your editor (16:14)
The learning curve of CSS and the importance of experience 18:04
Why different browsers render CSS differently (and why it sometimes doesn't work) (21:18)
Progressive enhancement and accessibility (25:53)
The history of CSS (29:21)
Will there ever be a CSS4? (33:11)
How to stay in the loop and join the conversation around features (35:18)
Quick-fire questions (37:33)

🧰 Resources mentioned

⭐️ Leave a Review

If you enjoy this episode please leave a 5 star review here and let us know who you want to see on the next podcast.

You can also Tweet Alex from Scrimba at @bookercodes and tell them what lessons you learned from the episode so they can thank you personally for tuning in 🙏

🎙 About the episode

🔗 Connect with Kevin

⏰ Timestamps

How Kevin found himself in the world of web design (01:28)
Can a new developer focus solely on CSS? (04:26)
What is a CSS Evangelist? (07:12)
Why do people struggle with CSS? (09:04)
Why CSS works the way it does (12:15)
CSS tools you should use (14:12)
CSS extensions for your editor (16:14)
The learning curve of CSS and the importance of experience 18:04
Why different browsers render CSS differently (and why it sometimes doesn't work) (21:18)
Progressive enhancement and accessibility (25:53)
The history of CSS (29:21)
Will there ever be a CSS4? (33:11)
How to stay in the loop and join the conversation around features (35:18)
Quick-fire questions (37:33)

🧰 Resources mentioned

⭐️ Leave a Review

If you enjoy this episode please leave a 5 star review here and let us know who you want to see on the next podcast.

You can also Tweet Alex from Scrimba at @bookercodes and tell them what lessons you learned from the episode so they can thank you personally for tuning in 🙏

Previous Episode

Career Change in Just a Year: How Anthony Hacked His Productivity and Got Hired Ten Minutes After an Interview!

🎙 About the episode

Meet Anthony 🇳🇱! Anthony worked as a Guest Experience Teamleader at the Sea Life aquarium in Scheveningen, where he got his feet wet in the world of the web by helping set up and manage the aquarium's new website. Web development enticed him with its unlimited possibilities and he quickly realized he wanted to do it as a job.

In this episode, you'll learn why to set goals, why deadlines are important, how to use the Pareto principle, and how to create consistency in your learning. Anthony also shares his tips for crafting a resume (very important if you're switching careers!) and choosing your portfolio projects.

🔗 Connect with Anthony

👨🏻‍💼 LinkedIn
🌐 Website
👩‍🚀 GitHub
🤖 Ant Casson#2260 on the Scrimba Discord

⏰ Timestamps

How Anthony got started with web development (01:32)
How Anthony switched careers in a year (03:36)
Keeping a consistent schedule (04:44)
How Scrimba provided Anthony with structure (06:48)
Anthony's strategy for getting his first junior developer job (11:18)
Putting effort into applications (13:09)
How many emails should you send? (14:24)
Getting a job within ten minutes from an interview! (16:11)
Negotiating an offer when changing careers (19:57)
The importance of setting a goal (22:43)
The Pareto Principle (23:58)
Learning on YouTube, or from documentation (26:05)

🧰 Resources mentioned

⭐️ Leave a Review

If you enjoy this episode please leave a 5 star review here and let us know who you want to see on the next podcast.

You can also Tweet Alex from Scrimba at @bookercodes and tell them what lessons you learned from the episode so they can thank you personally for tuning in 🙏

Next Episode

Career Change on Maternity Leave: How Kynnedy Learned To Code, Became a Code Reviewer, and Landed Her First Developer Job

🎙 About the episode

Meet Kynnedy 🇺🇸! She recently made history as the first student who found a job through Scrimba's Discord! She originally wanted to be an air traffic controller, but ended up working in hospitality. After she became a mom, Kynnedy decided on a career change. And she succeeded! 🎉

In this episode, you'll get handy tips on how to learn better and make whatever you're learning stick. Kynnedy shares what she did right, but also what she did wrong, as well as her approach to creating a more memorable developer portfolio. You'll hear her story about learning enough about front-end development to go from zero to becoming a code reviewer on Scrimba in only a few months. Plus: how to know you're ready to apply for jobs, and how how to code with a baby. :)

🔗 Connect with Kynnedy

⏰ Timestamps

How Kynnedy got into coding (02:00)
Bootcamp vs a self-directed route (04:03)
Learning to code while being a new parent (04:57)
Kynnedy's path and learning style with Scrimba (05:49)
Dealing with self-doubt when learning to code (06:58)
How to choose projects for you developer portfolio? (09:38)
How Kynnedy knew she was ready to start applying for jobs (14:22)
How Kynnedy put herself out there... and got no results (14:57)
Getting an interview through Scrimba's discord (16:00)
Kynnedy as a code reviewer on Scrimba (17:42)
Kynnedy's interview process (19:50)
Coding advice for younger Kynnedy (25:48)

🧰 Resources mentioned

Scrimba's Front End Career Path
Gary Simon on YouTube
Build and deploy your portfolio with Kevin Powell

⭐️ Leave a Review

If you enjoy this episode please leave a 5 star review here and let us know who you want to see on the next podcast.

You can also Tweet Alex from Scrimba at @bookercodes and tell them what lessons you learned from the episode so they can thank you personally for tuning in 🙏