Den Odell
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denodell.bsky.social
Den Odell
@denodell.bsky.social
20 followers 34 following 16 posts
Frontend Architect · Author · Developer
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denodell.bsky.social
Frameworks run inside the web, not the other way around.

New post on breaking free from framework gravity, building React apps that respect the platform and could outlast React itself.

denodell.com/blog/escape-...
Escape Velocity: Break Free from Framework Gravity
After a decade of React dominance, it’s time to remember that frameworks run inside the web, not the other way around.
denodell.com
November 5, 2025 at 9:30 PM
Reposted by Den Odell
cssweekly.com
CSS Weekly #622

🚀 Best of CSS in 2025
😳 Uncommon media queries
💠 corner-shape property
💬 :heading pseudo-class

Featuring @chriscoyier.net, @dxnny.fun, @jensimmons.bsky.social, @emilkowal.ski, @bram.us, @denodell.bsky.social. @silvestar.codes, @miocene.io. 🙏

cssw.io/issue-622
CSS Weekly Issue #622
Learn everything you need to know about new CSS features released in 2025, useful use cases for obscure media queries, how the corner-shape property works, and more.
cssw.io
October 23, 2025 at 1:26 PM
denodell.bsky.social
I recently discovered the HTML tag almost nobody uses.

The tag announces dynamic content to screen readers. Like an ARIA live region, except it's built in.

We've spent years hacking divs when the answer was in the spec. Classic.

New post:
denodell.com/blog/html-be...
HTML’s Best Kept Secret: The output Tag
Make your dynamic content accessible by default with the HTML tag that time forgot.
denodell.com
October 2, 2025 at 11:10 AM
denodell.bsky.social
Frontend code reviews should test the experience, not just the diff.

Too many bugs slip through because no one thought to preview in a browser.
My latest post covers how to shift reviews from “LGTM” to real UX quality checks.

denodell.com/blog/code-re...
Code Reviews That Actually Improve Frontend Quality
Most frontend reviews sign off clean code. But your users don’t see the code, they see the bugs you missed.
denodell.com
August 27, 2025 at 12:25 PM
denodell.bsky.social
We keep changing how we style the web.
Tailwind. CSS Modules. CSS-in-JS. Cascade layers.

Still feels off though.

Maybe CSS was never the real problem.

denodell.com/blog/we-keep...
We Keep Reinventing CSS, but Styling Was Never the Problem
We keep changing how we style the web, but the real problem isn’t CSS. It’s how we build around it.
denodell.com
August 6, 2025 at 10:32 AM
denodell.bsky.social
The next big shift in frontend isn’t a framework.
It’s a law.

The EU’s accessibility rules will ripple far beyond Europe, and the web will get better because of it.
denodell.com/blog/a-bette...
The Web Is About to Get Better for Everyone, Everywhere
What happens when accessibility stops being a best practice and starts being the law? We’re about to find out.
denodell.com
July 29, 2025 at 8:08 PM
denodell.bsky.social
Apparently, AI just made frontend developers obsolete.
Again.

Don’t panic. I’ve been here before. I know how this goes.
You’ll want to read this one.
denodell.com/blog/ai-is-j...
AI Is Just the Latest Frontend Killer. Don’t Panic.
Apparently, frontend developers are about to be made obsolete. This all sounds very familiar.
denodell.com
July 10, 2025 at 10:30 AM
denodell.bsky.social
Loading spinners. Hydration delays. 300kB of JS for a blog post.
We’ve normalised complexity where it’s not needed.
There’s a better way — and it starts with islands.
denodell.com/blog/buildin...
#frontend #architecture
Building the Web in Islands, Not Mountains
Loading spinners. Hydration delays. 300kB for a blog post. There’s a better way to build the web.
denodell.com
June 26, 2025 at 8:32 AM
denodell.bsky.social
Before CSS, we still had to build layouts.
No grid, no flex, not even float.
Just hacks, slices, and a lot of guesswork.

🆕 Hacking Layout Before CSS Even Existed
What we did, how it worked, and what it still teaches us.

👉 denodell.com/blog/hacking...
Hacking Layout Before CSS Even Existed
The early web had no layout system. No CSS. So we improvised, slicing, stretching, and nesting our way to structure.
denodell.com
June 11, 2025 at 1:39 PM
denodell.bsky.social
You’re going to hate me for saying this, but I actually like being on-call.
It’s not the 2:43 AM alerts.
It’s what they taught me about frontend quality.

My first piece of new writing in 10 years.
denodell.com/blog/try-a-w...
Want to Be a Better Frontend Engineer? Try a Week On-Call
You’re going to hate me for saying this, but I actually like being on-call. Honestly! It’s taught me more about frontend quality than any bug tracker ever did.
denodell.com
June 4, 2025 at 12:59 PM