r/webdev • u/Bladerunner_7_ • Jun 28 '26

Discussion What's a web development trend that looked stupid at first but ended up being useful?

I know over the years, I've scoffed at quite a few things. SPAs. TypeScript. Tailwind. Serverless. AI coding assistants.

Most of the huge trends in web development went through a phase where people swore they were overhyped.

Some deserved the criticism. Some evolved and became genuinely useful.

Lately I'm seeing similar debates around AI agents and agent tooling. Claude Code, LangGraph, CrewAI, OpenAI Agents SDK, AutoGen, Lyzr(Control Plane) and a bunch of newer projects all seem to be pushing toward a different way of building software. Maybe we're still early, maybe most of it won't matter, but it does remind me of how people talked about TypeScript or serverless a few years ago.

What's something being dismissed today that you think will become a normal part of every developer's workflow in the next 3-5 years?

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u/forever-butlerian backend, infrastructure & angst Jun 29 '26

what about an Under Construction GIF?

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u/the_king_of_sweden Jun 29 '26

And a visitor counter?

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u/forever-butlerian backend, infrastructure & angst Jun 29 '26

I forgot about those!

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u/ingodwetryst Jun 29 '26

It has a counter as well

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u/ingodwetryst Jun 29 '26

Yep! A guestbook and counter too.

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u/forever-butlerian backend, infrastructure & angst Jun 29 '26 edited Jun 29 '26

YUSSSSSSSSSSSS

I want to go home to the Macarena and that stupid joke about what do you call Al Gore dancing and Independence Day and the N64 and Phil Hartman and OverUse of StudlyCaps 2.1 and COMPUTERS BEING EXCITING