2026 marks my 30th year as a web professional. I started as a “webmaster” for my local newspaper right after high school graduation in 1996. Little did I know that I would still be a part of this industry so many years later.
Why have I stuck around for so long? I’ve always had a passion for technology. Web design provided me with a way to turn that passion into a career. And frankly, I don’t know how to do anything else. 😅 The world is a better place because I don’t work with power tools, trust me.
I want to share some thoughts on this three-decade journey. I keep coming back to how things have changed, so I’ll focus there. But I also want to reflect on how I’ve changed.
And if you want to know more about how far the web has come (for better or worse), read The Web as a Plot of Land. It details what I see as some lost opportunities for this platform we all use.
Building, Maintaining, and Owning a Website Is More Complex
One of my biggest pet peeves about the modern web is how hard it is to do, well, anything. I don’t want to dig into all the technical details. However, websites are akin to a beautiful home theater setup with a tangled mess of wires in the back. Only when you look behind the scenes do you see how royally screwed up things are.
I find it especially difficult when configuring websites for my clients. For example, connecting PayPal to their shopping cart requires things like:
- Coordinating a time to log into PayPal so that my client can send me their 2FA code.
- Answering a series of seemingly random questions about their business which means more client coordination.
- Fetching API keys and/or setting up web hooks.
OK, maybe that doesn’t sound so bad when I write it down. However, the process can be tedious and require a lot of back-and-forth with clients. What should take 30 minutes can stretch on for a day or more.
Now, repeat that experience for every third-party service you need on your website. It’s enough to drive anyone bonkers.
There’s also an underlying mess of grabbing data from various parts of a website. WordPress is famous for this scenario. Creating a client report that shows data from WooCommerce and your membership plugin is like herding gerbils. Thankfully, I found that AI helps with the task.
We also see such complexities for users. It’s not a lack of technical know-how on the part of the builder, but a concerted effort to make things as hard as possible. That’s why cancelling a subscription service is a nightmare.
The web is now a series of monoliths. Part of modern web development is attempting to connect them somehow. That’s one reason why I miss the days of the basic, static website. It was connected to nothing at all. 🥰
Danger Is Lurking Around Every Corner
More complex websites that connect to multiple outside services mean less security. A constant stream of bot attacks coupled with vulnerable systems makes for a wild ride. I never anticipated how much of my time would be devoted to preventing and cleaning up security issues.
Sometimes, I doubt myself. I’m not perfect, but I employ the best practices I know, yet I’ve still seen my share of hacked sites. Then again, I think about the major corporations with robust security teams who have these issues, only on a bigger scale. Governments, banks, insurance companies, and the like have all experienced breaches. Maybe I’m not so bad, after all?
The early days of web design afforded us more control over our sites. A host could indeed be hacked. But there were fewer links in the chain to worry about. These days, even a small website could have dozens of potential points of failure.
If you’re new to the industry, my advice is to consider security at every turn. Encourage your clients to spend on secure tools and platforms. The cheapest options will often come back and bite you.
How I Have (and Haven’t) Changed
OK, enough with the technology gripes. It’s time for a few thoughts on how I’ve changed (or not) during the past 30 years. I mean, that covers a lot of territory.
- I started as an 18-year-old kid with zero responsibilities. Now, I’m 48 with a spouse, a kid in high school, a business, and a pile of bills.
- I still drive a Honda (not the same one, mind you). I’ve never owned a different brand.
- I am no less obsessed with music.
- I have (somewhat) broken out of my introverted shell. I go to places and do things I never would have done years ago.
- I’m more assertive when advising clients and looking out for my interests.
- I have Type 1 Diabetes now. I truly miss all the SURGE soda and curly fries I consumed back in the day.
- I enjoy learning these days and am no longer afraid of not having an immediate answer. This ain’t high school, kids.
- I don’t watch hockey nearly as much as I used to. But I still watch my Baltimore Orioles and New Orleans Saints every chance I get.
- I believe I can adapt to different situations in life and work better than before.
- I’ve seen some shit. Well, I’ve seen some more shit, anyway.
It feels surreal to say I’ve spent 30 years in an industry. That’s something grandparents would have done in the 20th century. They probably had a pension, but I digress…
All told, it’s not bad for a kid who had no idea what he would do after high school. I’ll take it. 👍
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