956: Should I Keep Using WordPress?

The Syntax team brings us their annual Holiday Gift Guide! They’ve curated the best gadgets, tools, food, and even kitchen essentials for the dev in your life — plus a few treats anyone would love to unwrap. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax 00:54 Our Favorite Things 01:03 Wes - Bambu Lab 3d Printers 01:50 Wes - Leatherman Arc Multi-tool 03:07 Kaitlin - Ruffwear Roamer Bungee Dog Leash 04:49 Niki - Magic Mirror Home Screen 06:42 Randy - Everything Presence Light 08:22 Randy - Henson Safety Razor 10:24 CJ - Viltrox 28mm Pancake Lens 11:17 Scott - 3D Printers 11:37 Scott - Anker 4-Port Charger 12:45 Randy - DJI Mic Mini 13:37 Randy - Velcro Cable Ties 14:22 Kaitlin - Prequel Skin Care 16:18 Kaitlin - Coros Pace 3 Running Watch 17:30 Niki - Steam Machine 18:02 Niki - VR Headset 18:18 Under $30 18:25 Wes - ESP32 18:45 Wes - WS2811 LED Strips 19:44 CJ - Precision Screw Driver Set 20:42 Scott - Magsafe Popsocket 21:23 Wes - Digital Calipers 22:45 CJ - Microfiber Device Cloth 23:33 Scott - Candle Warmer 25:30 Wes - Matte Screen Protectors 25:38 Desk Items 25:46 Wes - MX Master 4 Logitech Mouse 26:40 Scott - Elgato Stream Deck 29:12 CJ - Magsafe Phone Stand 30:13 Office Items 30:21 Wes - Heated Vest 31:33 CJ - USB Hand Warmers 32:23 Tech / Storage 32:32 Scott - MoCa Ethernet Adapter 33:41 CJ - 4TB Drive and 1TB SD Card 35:06 Wes - BenQ Programming Monitors 37:28 Food 37:37 Scott - Biena Edamame 38:08 Wes - Heartbeat Hot Sauce 39:11 Wes - Seoul Sisters Kimchi Mix 39:32 CJ - Clif Protein Bars 39:55 CJ - Z Energy Strips 40:51 Kitchen Gadgets 41:00 Wes - Carbon Steel Frying Pan 42:35 CJ - Air Fryer 44:45 Scott - Zojirushi Water Boiler 45:43 Scott - Teak Cutting Board 47:36 Clothes 48:26 Wes - Hooke / Naked and Famous 49:24 Scott - Octobre Clothing 50:31 Scott - Sezane Clothing 52:11 CJ - Blank Mineral Wash Shirts 53:10 Kids 53:17 Wes - Yoto Player 54:47 Scott - Tonie Box 56:06 CJ - Large Hedgehog Plush 56:43 CJ - Tortilla Blanket 57:04 Smarthome 57:08 Scott - Lutron Caseta 57:38 Wes - Meross and Refoss 01:00:41 Scott - Apollo Automation 01:01:29 CJ - Kauf Smart Home 01:02:52 CJ - Plant LED Bulb 01:04:03 Scott - Roland Electronic Drum Set 01:04:58 Thanks! Hit us up on Socials! Syntax: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Wes: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Scott: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Randy: X Instagram YouTube Threads

Scott and Wes face off in a CSS-themed round of STUMP’d, quizzing each other on shape functions, scroll snap types, obscure functions, and long-forgotten spec history. From ray() to cross-fade() to print-color quirks, this episode is packed with rapid-fire frontend trivia guaranteed to sharpen your CSS brain. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 00:54 Which of the following are valid CSS Shape Functions? 02:03 CSS Selectors 4 specification demo. 03:20 How many functions are there in CSS? 04:22 Brought to you by Sentry.io. 04:47 Explain the 3 CSS Scroll Snap types. 06:38 What does the xywh() do? 09:15 What about ray()? 11:25 What do CSS Namespaces do? 14:37 What year was CSS paint() bug tracker introduced in Firefox? 17:34 What does print-color-adjust do? 20:26 What is cross-fade()? 23:54 Name 3 reasons you might use CSS @property. 27:36 List all 10 CSS Filter Functions. 32:41 Name 5 font properties. Hit us up on Socials! Syntax: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Wes: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Scott: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Randy: X Instagram YouTube Threads

In this potluck episode, Wes and Scott answer your questions about paid vs. free SSL, the state of frontend jobs, headless WordPress trade-offs, organizing TypeScript types, and more! Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 00:51 Recapping the GitHub Meetup 05:14 Is there any real benefit to picking a paid SSL over Let's Encrypt? 08:03 Is the pure frontend role disappearing? 11:17 Is the gravy train over for software devs? 20:48 How Scott automates versioning with GitHub Actions changesets Intro to using changesets zero-svelte graffiti 25:16 Brought to you by Sentry.io 25:41 Thoughts on VS Code alternatives and the rise of Zed 33:01 Should I switch to headless WordPress or continue rolling my own PHP templates? 37:33 How do you organize TypeScript types in a frontend project? 40:55 How do I continue to level up as a developer? 45:36 Stay in a comfortable job or embrace new challenges? Hit us up on Socials! Syntax: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Wes: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Scott: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Randy: X Instagram YouTube Threads

Scott and Wes break down SvelteKit’s new remote functions and why they finally solve the long-standing pain of page-level data in Svelte. They cover queries, forms, batching, caching, and all the clever RPC ergonomics that make Svelte’s approach feel surprisingly powerful and refreshingly simple. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 00:45 Lots of RPC library options. 01:22 Svelte’s Page-Level Data Always Felt Off 02:12 Progress on the new Syntax site. 03:47 Remote functions explained. Svelte Remote Functions Docs. 04:15 Make a .remote.ts file. 05:07 Querying data. 07:52 Brought to you by Sentry.io. 08:17 Svelte’s leg up on React. 10:13 Query Arguments. 11:39 The benefits of Standard Schema. 13:13 Refreshing Queries. 13:29 query.batch 15:18 Form function. 21:13 Enhance. 22:31 Refresh. 23:16 Command query. 24:25 Prerender. 25:22 Caching. 27:44 My Local Cache Service Worker. 31:23 Sick Picks + Shameless Plugs. Sick Picks Scott: CoffeeSock ColdBrew Filter, Chemex Filter. Wes: Bosch Dishwasher. Shameless Plugs Scott: Syntax on YouTube Hit us up on Socials! Syntax: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Wes: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Scott: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Randy: X Instagram YouTube Threads

Live from GitHub Universe, Wes and Scott talk with Tanner Linsley about the latest from TanStack, including TanStack DB’s local-first syncing, new routing ideas, and fresh perspectives on server components and “magic” directives. They explore performance, incremental adoption, and what’s next for the rapidly growing TanStack ecosystem — plus a few spicy takes along the way. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 01:12 What’s new in the TanStack universe? 01:57 Introducing TanStack DB: local-first sync engine 05:17 How syncing and transactions actually work in TanStack DB 07:03 Next.js 16 Workflows: durable functions and the directive debate 08:46 Brought to you by Sentry.io 09:41 Tanner’s case for fewer “magic directives” 12:36 TanStack’s approach to React Server Components 14:30 The momentum of leading an ecosystem 15:38 Top-secret TanStack project in the works Hit us up on Socials! Syntax: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Wes: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Scott: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Randy: X Instagram YouTube Threads

Scott and Wes sit down with Jared Palmer of GitHub (formerly of Vercel) to unpack all the biggest announcements from GitHub Universe 2025. They dive into the future of developer workflows with agents, how GitHub is rethinking project interfaces, and where there’s still room to improve the dev experience. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! GitHub Universe Recap. 00:21 Who is Jared Palmer? 01:19 The developer workflow with agents. 03:33 Opening ongoing tasks in VS Code. 06:08 The benefit of agnostic agents. 07:04 GitHub’s biggest opportunities for improvement. 09:38 What’s your interface of choice for a new project? Hit us up on Socials! Syntax: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Wes: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Scott: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Randy: X Instagram YouTube Threads

Live from GitHub Universe, Wes, Scott, and CJ talk about the latest AI and developer tools from GitHub, including Agent HQ, Copilot integrations, and the new mission control for agents. They also share stories from the Syntax meetup, hack their conference badges, and debate AI’s role in coding. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 03:39 This year’s GitHub Universe badges were next-level 07:35 Keynote recap: GitHub Agents, Copilot, and Mission Control 18:21 Brought to you by Sentry.io 20:33 Plan Mode and the future of collaborative coding 23:40 Cursor’s new trick: firing off agents straight from Slack 25:32 Copilot Metrics Dashboard and agent analytics 27:53 Effortless MCP integration and custom agent workflows 31:35 Wrapping up GitHub Universe 2025 Hit us up on Socials! Syntax: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Wes: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Scott: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Randy: X Instagram YouTube Threads

Scott and Wes dive into Remix 3, exploring how it embraces native web standards like Events, Signals, and Streams to become a truly full-stack framework. They unpack what “LLM-ready,” thin APIs, and a standards-based approach mean for the future of web development. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 03:21 Uses the platform - native Events, Signals, Streams, Fetch 04:16 Remix 3, Fully Fullstack. 04:57 LLM‑ready + thin APIs 05:53 Brought to you by Sentry.io. 06:18 My previous predictions. 07:44 The value of ‘Standards Based’. 09:13 Component model - JSX/TSX; state = variables; call this.render() 11:56 Adding reactivity to Remix. 15:15 Event‑based architecture - custom events, EventTarget, interactions 20:52 Context & type‑safe access. 22:46 Composing interaction logic within events. 24:25 Signals - AbortSignal to cancel async ops 25:21 Benefits of standards - bring your own tools/libraries Michael Asnong X Post. 26:42 CSS - built‑in CSS prop; Svelte‑like scoping 28:34 Server - Web Request/Response, Web Streams across runtimes 31:23 Frames - async URL‑addressable components with fallbacks 33:07 Tooling - ESM; use Vite or esbuild 34:47 Routing - code‑based named routes 35:57 Questions/Concerns - manual rendering vs reactivity 38:47 URL Pattern API - modern, fast routing foundations 41:33 Sick Picks + Shameless Plugs. Sick Picks Scott: MoCA 2.5 Network Adapter Wes: Bosch Dishwasher Shameless Plugs Scott: Syntax on YouTube. Hit us up on Socials! Syntax: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Wes: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Scott: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Randy: X Instagram YouTube Threads

In part 2 of this year’s Spooky Stories special, Wes and Scott discuss the most chilling developer horror stories—from six-month-old unprocessed donations and runaway dog-food orders to vanishing databases, DNS disasters, code that literally tore apart a mall’s ventilation system, and more! Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 01:33 A Bug Beyond the Grave 04:16 NHL SPOOKS 06:36 White Space Ghost Faced 10:54 Over Order Nightmare 16:50 Alaskian 21:16 Brought to you by Sentry.io 22:50 Rackspace’d Out 25:02 Fired 26:52 WordPress Woes 33:21 What does the P in VPS stand for? 34:18 Beyond the Grave II 35:39 The Hottest Hot Fix 37:54 Bad Redirect 40:03 Instead of Making Money, You Spend Money! 41:26 Certbot Certain Death 43:55 It’s Always DNS 50:02 Cache Ruins Everything Around Me 51:52 Fiber F-Up 56:18 More Spooky Stories Don’t Drink and Deploy 😬 | Spooky Dev Stories Pt. 1 Submit your Spooky Stories Hit us up on Socials! Syntax: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Wes: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Scott: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Randy: X Instagram YouTube Threads

It’s that time of year again, Scott (as Dracula) and Wes (as a big bad shark) return for their annual Spooky Stories special! They’re joined by a mysterious guest for a round of creepy coding trivia and chilling true tales of web dev gone wrong; dropped databases, haunted passwords, and more. Beware: these are real developer horror stories. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to Syntax! 00:05 Scott’s vampire costume. 00:38 New to live-streaming. 00:54 AWS Outage. 01:50 What is Spooky Stories? 02:01 (Wes is wearing a shark costume) 02:34 Brought to you by Sentry.io. 03:30 PHP MyHeadache. 06:23 A Browser Hack. 08:30 Browser Hack Gameshow & Special Guest! 17:01 Ghost Password. 21:32 Just A Patch. 24:12 Don’t drink and Deploy. 34:47 Discount. Hit us up on Socials! Syntax: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Wes: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Scott: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads Randy: X Instagram YouTube Threads