Spencer Pauly | Home (Page 1)

Boost Readability in React with a custom <Div.InsertNameHere> Component

Boost Readability in React with a custom <Div.InsertNameHere> Component

💭Edit 8/29: I made a mistake! I didn't have the Proxy's return element memoized. This was causing re-renders every time. I've fixed the code below. Enjoy! I made a component for React w/ TypeScript that lets you create dynamically-named div components on the fly. For example, a

Tech I'm learning in 2023

Tech I'm learning in 2023

Guys I'm gonna be honest, I think I'm at the beginning of becoming an "old man" in tech. What I mean by that, is that I've become more opinionated and resistant to change than I used to be in the past. Two years ago, when I built things my opinions

7 Common SaaS Dashboard Mistakes — How to Fix

7 Common SaaS Dashboard Mistakes — How to Fix

SaaS dashboards, like everything in life, are a compromise. They’re a constant battle between functionality and ease-of-use. And, like most compromises, they typically do a bad job at both things. I’ve identified these mistakes and distilled them into one great article for those looking to dramatically improve the

Best practices for naming hooks & props in React

Best practices for naming hooks & props in React

As a developer, I think two of the most challenging things in software are (a) naming things and (b) figuring out best practices. Both of these things have many ways of accomplishing the same goal, so it's hard to know which way is recommended. That's why I decided to make

Introducing the container pattern – a better alternative to Redux

Introducing the container pattern – a better alternative to Redux

Using a container metaphor to provide a minimal and modular microservice-esque solution to managing state.

How to use the user's mental-models to create excellent UX

How to use the user's mental-models to create excellent UX

Two years ago, I learned a valuable lesson about creating good UX: It might not seem intuitive, but sometimes users prefer the less straightforward UX At this time, I was building the first version of a new cross-platform app called Skiwise. I thought I was creating the best experience possible,

The ideal tech stack for building cross-platform apps in the modern era

The ideal tech stack for building cross-platform apps in the modern era

Let’s entertain a simple scenario for a second: You’re a solo developer. You have an idea. You tell the idea to your friends. They like the idea. You design a prototype. You spend months on design, code, art, marketing, and then the time comes for you to release

How to type React Context with TypeScript – and why is it so painful?

How to type React Context with TypeScript – and why is it so painful?

How to type React Context with TypeScript – and why the React devs teach you incorrectly

The #1 Best Design Pattern for Managing Forms in React

The #1 Best Design Pattern for Managing Forms in React

And how this design patterns can cut down development time & make messy forms a thing of the past.

Progressive Web Apps — the future of mobile?

Progressive Web Apps — the future of mobile?

Progressive Web Apps (PWA’s) are becoming more widespread every day and when you see their benefits it’s easy to understand why. PWA’s are proven to bring about higher customer engagement, higher customer retention, and increased conversion rates to your web app. So, what are PWA’s? To

The 9 Month Solo Development Journey of Skiwise

The 9 Month Solo Development Journey of Skiwise

Skiwise is an app I’ve been developing with the goal of connecting cross country skiers with a network of their peers to share knowledge around trail conditions, social events, weather changes, and more. Originally beginning in November 2019, I’ve been working on this project for almost 700 hours

10 Non-Traditional Hacks for Incoming Computer Science Students

10 Non-Traditional Hacks for Incoming Computer Science Students

Curated advice from a college student who’s made all the mistakes before

Why I Switched Away From Google Firestore – and don't regret it

Why I Switched Away From Google Firestore – and don't regret it

Firestore has it’s use-case, but if your product lies slightly outside of that then you should be aware of the limitations.

Why didn't Deno take off?

Why didn't Deno take off?

Why didn't Deno take off when it released it's official version 1.0? There's a couple reasons, but one big, ugly, obvious one.