Syntax - Tasty Web Development Treats

Wes and Scott talk about the origins of Syntax, sharing how a friendly course name conflict led to a mastermind group, then a podcast, and eventually a full-blown media brand. They also reflect on key milestones, from early episodes and sponsorships to joining Sentry, expanding the team, and what’s next. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 00:51 How Wes and Scott met Scott T

Light mode? Dark mode? Scott and Wes break down the best ways to implement theme switching in CSS, from prefers-color-scheme to manual overrides. Plus, tips on handling shadows, icons, and the dreaded flash of dark mode! Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 01:05 Brought to you by Sentry.io. 02:06 Light and dark mode, things to consider. 02:31 Light and dark mode from scratch.

Wes and Scott talk about the ins and outs of accepting payments online—from choosing processors like Stripe and PayPal to handling fraud, taxes, custom checkouts, and more. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 02:34 Payment processors Stripe PayPal Square Authorize.net 09:29 Checkouts 18:22 The checkout flow 23:10 Methods of accepting money 25:30 Brought to you by Sentry.io 28

Scott and Wes talk about the planning process for a major redesign of the Syntax.fm website. They share their thoughts on organizing tasks, choosing tech, handling styling, and the debates that come with deciding what to keep and what to change. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 01:36 Brought to you by Sentry.io. 02:48 Why we need version 3.0 of Syntax.fm. Level Up Tutoria

Is Vibe Coding the future of software development or just a fun way to experiment? Scott and Wes talk about coding with AI, the risks of ignoring the details, and the cool (and sometimes cursed) projects they’ve Vibe Coded. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 00:31 “Personal Software”. 01:30 What exactly is Vibe Coding. 02:46 The challenges of coding with AI. Levelsio

Wes and Scott talk about Infrastructure as Code and how SST makes deploying to AWS easier than ever. They dive into SST’s features, developer experience, and how it simplifies managing services like databases, email, and more. Plus, insights on Cloudflare integration, auto-scaling, and real-world use cases. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! Supper Club × Next.js on AWS +

Scott and Wes dig into the wild world of CSS fonts—covering fallbacks, variable fonts, and new tricks like text-box-trim. They also break down font-display, font kits, and how to avoid layout shifts when loading custom type. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 01:06 Brought to you by Sentry.io. Damnit Sans. 02:53 @font-face. 03:27 Font Display. 07:40 Avoiding layout s

Wes and Scott talk with Anders Hejlsberg and Daniel Rosenwasser about TypeScript’s leap to native code. They discuss the challenges, trade-offs, and the decision to port TypeScript to Go, unlocking faster compilation, better concurrency, and new possibilities for AI-assisted development. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 00:38 TypeScript compiler goes native 05:24 Challenge

What are Web Vitals, and why should you care? Scott and Wes break down metrics like LCP, FCP, CLS, and INP, explaining what they measure, how they impact your site’s performance, and how to track them yourself. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 03:26 What each web vital means. Web Vitals Playground. 03:38 LCP - Largest Contentful Paint. 05:04 FCP - First Contentful Paint