![Getting a Software Engineering Job, v2](https://static.frontendmasters.com/assets/courses/2023-08-29-getting-a-job-v2/thumb.webp)
Check out a free preview of the full Getting a Software Engineering Job, v2 course
The "Design Best Practices" Lesson is part of the full, Getting a Software Engineering Job, v2 course featured in this preview video. Here's what you'd learn in this lesson:
Jerome emphasizes the importance of using design best practices when creating a portfolio. HR decision-makers may not understand the technical details of a portfolio site however poor design techniques or illegible content may hurt a candidate's chances to move forward in the hiring process.
Transcript from the "Design Best Practices" Lesson
[00:00:00]
>> All right, design best practices. I think we've talked about this a little bit, but we didn't get into it as much. But design best practices, typography, white space. Color theory, knowing the colors you're gonna use and they don't really clash well, things of that nature. It's very important to make sure that it's user friendly and visually appealing.
[00:00:21]
That handles user two, or gatekeeper two. Those tools, those practices is what's gonna keep the HR from either bringing you to the next level or not. Cuz HR, they may not have a technical background, but they know an ugly sight when they see it. You don't have to be a expert to know, yo, this is hideous and I don't want to make anyone else look at it.
[00:00:49]
I have a saying that the only people who look and use the ugly websites are developers. And then anybody tells me I'm full of it, I show them Hacker News and Stack Overflow, and I'm like.
>> Yes, these all are trash websites that developers only use. So only people that use ugly websites are developers, and I stand by that.
[00:01:16]
Everybody else, they want their websites to look pretty. So make sure that you use design best practices. Now this isn't a mandatory one, this will greatly help you though, which is using a database, particularly if you wanna use a blog. Now I know there's a lot of serverless blog options available.
[00:01:36]
However, they also don't give you the level of challenge then when it comes gonna let someone like automatically respect the blog. I know blogs just be out there for information, it's cool. However, when you're dealing with an older, more senior dev that's trying to look at your job, you're like you use the database.
[00:01:57]
That's old school, I kinda like that. All right, you actually went through the hard work of figuring out SQL. And doing that, or for me, I learned SQL and I learned Postgres because I learned that DARPA had funded part of creating Postgres. I'm interested in using Postgres because I know that has military history that combined to it.
[00:02:22]
So that is what I want it to do, and that is literally what all the things that would have motivated me from using Postgres. I highly recommend that, while it's not mandatory, if you use a blog you use SQL as a way for the storage mechanism of it.
[00:02:43]
So that way you can talk about that in your interviews. Yes, sir.
>> For the database stuff, do you recommend a cloud provider like PlanetScale or Supeabase, or would you just wanna use-
>> If you're between the two of them you just said, I recommend PlanetScale. So Planet Scale seems, everybody, all the kids seem to love PlaneScale from what I've heard.
[00:03:13]
It seems pretty affordable too, which is very important when it comes to storage of data. So between the two you said, I'll say PlanetScale.
>> Do you think it'd be better to just write it, spin it up yourself though, and not use one of those providers?
>> Why would you do that?
[00:03:30]
>> I don't know.
>> Only to prove that you can.
>> Yeah.
>> I mean, if you like crying, sure.
>> [LAUGH]
>> I mean, everybody needs a good cry, go for it, I don't care.
Learn Straight from the Experts Who Shape the Modern Web
- In-depth Courses
- Industry Leading Experts
- Learning Paths
- Live Interactive Workshops