Dom Jay | Developer & Writer

The Brag Document: Your Secret Weapon Against Self-Doubt

Thu, 01 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

A super quick insight into the object-fit property

Reclaiming the Flow: Mastering Visual vs. DOM Order with @reading-order

Mon, 16 Jun 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Your CSS is lying to some of your users. Here's the property that fixes it.

object-fit: A Starter Guide

Wed, 20 Oct 2021 00:00:00 GMT

The five values, which one you'll actually use, and why cover is almost always the answer

Put Your CSS In Its Place with @scope

Sat, 15 Feb 2025 00:00:00 GMT

How @scope finally gives CSS the style boundaries it's always needed - and why that means BEM can retire.

Deploying a Next.js Boilerplate to Netlify

Wed, 03 Nov 2021 00:00:00 GMT

Setting up the Netlify CLI to deploy a Next application to Netlify

The Clean Markup Way to Decorate Headlines

Mon, 10 Feb 2025 00:00:00 GMT

You shouldn't have to wrap every headline in an extra just to add a decorative stroke or underline. That's messy HTML and painful to maintain. This article reveals the simple, two-line CSS trick using pseudo-elements that lets you customize every pixel of your typography's look, keeping your markup squeaky clean and your designs highly custom. Stop polluting your document—start designing with pure CSS magic.

Imposter Syndrome and the “Actual, Real, Developer”

Wed, 26 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Why does an industry full of creative, successful professionals make so many of them feel like they're just getting away with a con?

2022 in Review

Fri, 30 Dec 2022 00:00:00 GMT

A public reflection of 2022, both professionally and personally.

The blog questions challenge

Thu, 20 Jun 2024 00:00:00 GMT

The default-iest of Apps

Mon, 13 Nov 2023 00:00:00 GMT

There’s been a trend recently of writing up a list of default apps, stemming from a recent podcast, so here I am, jumping on that trend!

Desert Island Discs post

Mon, 10 Feb 2025 00:00:00 GMT

8 albums - each from a point of my life.

CSS env() Function: A Developer's Guide

Mon, 27 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Explore the CSS env() function and its practical applications for responsive, device-aware layouts.

Flexbox Safe and Unsafe Values: A Complete Guide

Mon, 27 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Understanding safe and unsafe values in CSS flexbox properties and their impact on layout behavior.

Making variable fonts fit your site theme

Thu, 09 Mar 2023 00:00:00 GMT

Don't like some of the colors used on a variable font? Don't stand for it (...unless the options aren't provided anyway, in which case fall in line)

Investigating the color-mix property

Mon, 10 Feb 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Getting Started with CSS Variables in GSAP in 5 Minutes

Wed, 12 Jun 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Dive into the exciting world of GSAP's latest feature - direct CSS variable animation! No more workarounds, just pure animation magic.

Let's React: Create React App

Thu, 17 Feb 2022 00:00:00 GMT

A deep dive into Create React App - a tool for building single page applications

Level Up Your Styles With CSS Variables

Tue, 17 Aug 2021 00:00:00 GMT

The four behaviours that make custom properties more than just variables.

Text Truncation Without the Drama

Thu, 23 Feb 2023 00:00:00 GMT

How line-clamp truncates text in four lines of CSS - no JS, no npm package, no polyfill needed.

Stop Using Media Queries: Effortless Dark Mode with CSS light-dark()

Thu, 25 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMT

A new CSS color function for effortless light/dark mode theming

Mastering Image Ratios With object-fit

Wed, 26 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Stop the jumps: the two-line CSS fix that kills CLS for good

Page Turners - May 2025

Thu, 29 May 2025 00:00:00 GMT

A list of links and demos I've collected over May 2025, with the intention of posting monthly

Page Turners - July 2025

Thu, 31 Jul 2025 00:00:00 GMT

A list of links and demos I've collected over July 2025, with the intention of posting monthly

Page Turners - June 2025

Mon, 30 Jun 2025 00:00:00 GMT

A list of links and demos I've collected over June 2025, with the intention of posting monthly

Page Turners - September 2025

Mon, 01 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMT

A list of links and demos I've collected over September 2025, with the intention of posting monthly

Page Turners - October 2025

Fri, 31 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT

A list of links and demos I've collected over November 2025, with the intention of posting monthly

Page Turners - November 2025

Thu, 27 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT

A list of links and demos I've collected over November 2025, with the intention of posting monthly

Page Turners - March 2026

Mon, 30 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

This months page turners have articles written by Terry Godier, David Bushell, Nicole Sullivan, Stuart Robson and Abbey Perini. Plus a crazy video of a CSS game and a unique portfolio site.

Page Turners - April 2026

Mon, 27 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

This months page turners have articles written by John Rhea, Scott Jehl, Chris Coyier, Amit Sheen and Stewart Robson. Plus a couple of quizzes!

April Page Turners

Thu, 25 Apr 2024 00:00:00 GMT

A collection of articles I've read over April 2024, with the intention of posting monthly

February Page Turners

Sat, 09 Mar 2024 00:00:00 GMT

A collection of articles I`ve read over February 2024, with the intention of posting monthly

June Page Turners

Tue, 25 Jun 2024 00:00:00 GMT

A collection of articles I've read over June 2024, with the intention of posting monthly

March Page Turners

Sun, 31 Mar 2024 00:00:00 GMT

A collection of articles I've read over March 2024, with the intention of posting monthly

May Page Turners

Sat, 25 May 2024 00:00:00 GMT

A collection of articles I've read over May 2024, with the intention of posting monthly

Replacing GSAP with scroll animations

Mon, 27 Nov 2023 00:00:00 GMT

I was interested in picking up some new CSS tricks, and there’s been a lot of talk recently about scroll driven animations. Feeling inspired during a weekend away, I dug around on Codepen for some and came across this pen from Ryan Mulligan (hexagoncircle).

Selecting all siblings with the :has() function

Wed, 26 Apr 2023 00:00:00 GMT

Reaching an element's siblings in CSS used to be tough. :has() changes everything.

Spotlight: April 2024

Wed, 01 May 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Highlights from the month

Spotlight: March 2024

Sun, 31 Mar 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Highlights from the month

Starting 2024

Tue, 02 Jan 2024 00:00:00 GMT

I read Rach Smith's post 'a work from home reset for the new year' and had a thought about how I want to start the year off professionally.

Switch VS If

Mon, 10 Feb 2025 00:00:00 GMT

A practical guide to choosing between switch and if statements in JavaScript, focusing on everyday agency development scenarios.

Temporal API: JavaScript’s New Time Machine

Fri, 15 Mar 2024 00:00:00 GMT

A modern approach to handling dates and times in JavaScript

The Aesthetics of Code

Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

We can describe code that works. We struggle to describe code that's good. This is an attempt at the difference.

The Feed Never Stops: On the Developer Anxiety That Never Goes Away

Sun, 26 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT

The anxiety that you're not keeping up isn't a personal failing - it's the predictable result of measuring yourself against a target that has never existed.

Performance is a Time Zone

Thu, 25 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMT

In a remote world, technical debt doesn't just slow down a site—it triggers urgent, cross-continent Slack pings. This article frames code quality as an act of empathy. Learn how to eliminate Global State Blast Radii and Opaque Dependencies by becoming an Async-Resilient Developer who protects their team's sanity (and sleep).

The 100vh Problem, and How Three New Units Fix It

Thu, 25 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Weeknotes: April 12 – 18, 2021

Sun, 18 Apr 2021 00:00:00 GMT

Highlights from the week

Weeknotes: April 19 – 25, 2021

Sun, 25 Apr 2021 00:00:00 GMT

Highlights from the week

Weeknotes: February 14 - 20, 2022

Sun, 20 Feb 2022 00:00:00 GMT

Highlights from the week

Weeknotes: February 21 - 27, 2022

Sun, 27 Feb 2022 00:00:00 GMT

Highlights from the week

Weeknotes: February 28 - March 06, 2022

Sun, 06 Mar 2022 00:00:00 GMT

Highlights from the week

Weeknotes: March 14 - 20, 2022

Mon, 14 Mar 2022 00:00:00 GMT

Highlights from the week

Weeknotes: October 23 – 29, 2023

Mon, 23 Oct 2023 00:00:00 GMT

Highlights from the week

When LLMs Hallucinate Your Metadata: Reclaiming Control Over Google’s AI Snippets

Sun, 26 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT

In software development, the goalposts constantly move. Every new framework, spec, or API brings the anxiety of having to be the all-knowing expert. This article unpacks the universal Imposter Tax of the profession and offers four actionable strategies—shifting your value from knowledge storage to knowledge translation.

Beyond the Shortcut: How to Become the Developer Who Understands the 'Why'

Thu, 25 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMT

AI is an incredible partner, but if you rely on it to skip crucial learning steps, you risk missing the foundations that seniors rely on. This guide explores the hidden cost of the shortcut and introduces the 'Debugging First' Pledge—a simple commitment that guarantees you build the muscle memory and architectural foresight needed to level up from junior to expert.