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Engineering Insights & Guides

The best problem-solving writing in software engineering — databases, performance, security, frontend and distributed systems, in one feed.

11,841 articles
Engineering — Quick Hit #107

Quick Hit #107

Font Awesome are launching a Kickstarter campaign to transform Eleventy (11ty) into Build Awesome.

DSDaniel SchwarzDaniel Schwarz·March 9, 2026Engineering
Engineering — The Value of z-index

The Value of z-index

How we look at the stacking order of our projects, how we choose z-index values, and more importantly, the implications of those choices.

ASAmit SheenAmit Sheen·March 9, 2026Engineering
Engineering — Offloading FFmpeg with Cloudflare

Offloading FFmpeg with Cloudflare

How I moved Call Kent podcast episode processing off my primary Fly.io app server and onto Cloudflare Queues and Containers: what broke, what I missed, and whether it was worth the complexity.

KCKent C. DoddsKent C. Dodds·March 9, 2026Engineering
Security — How Advanced Browsing Protection Works in Messenger

How Advanced Browsing Protection Works in Messenger

We’re sharing the technical details behind how Advanced Browsing Protection (ABP) in Messenger protects the privacy of the links clicked on within chats while still warning people about malicious links. We hope that this post has helped to illuminate some of the engineering challenges and infrastructure components involved for providing this feature for our users. […]

CWChris Wiltz·March 9, 2026Security
Design & UX — Persuasive Design: Ten Years Later — Smashing Magazine

Persuasive Design: Ten Years Later — Smashing Magazine

Many product teams still lean on usability improvements and isolated behavioral tweaks to address weak activation, drop-offs, and low retention – only to see results plateau or slip into shallow gamification. Anders Toxboe updates persuasive design for today’s reality, clarifying what has actually held up over the last decade.

AAnderstoxboeAnderstoxboe·March 9, 2026Design & UX
Engineering — Quick Hit #106

Quick Hit #106

A new version of Chrome will be released every two weeks (instead of four) starting from September 2026.

DSDaniel SchwarzDaniel Schwarz·March 6, 2026Engineering
AI & ML — Human Strategy In An AI-Accelerated Workflow — Smashing Magazine

Human Strategy In An AI-Accelerated Workflow — Smashing Magazine

UX design is entering a new phase, with designers shifting from makers of outputs to directors of intent. AI can now generate wireframes, prototypes, and even design systems in minutes, but UX has never been only about creating interfaces. It’s about navigating ambiguity, advocating for humans in systems optimised for efficiency, and solving their problems through thoughtful design.

CWCarrie WebsterCarrie Webster·March 6, 2026AI & ML
Engineering — How Automatic Return Routing solves IP overlap

How Automatic Return Routing solves IP overlap

Automatic Return Routing (ARR) solves the common enterprise challenge of overlapping private IP addresses by using stateful flow tracking instead of traditional routing tables. This userspace-driven approach ensures return traffic reaches the correct origin tunnel without manual NAT or VRF configuration.

SWSteve Welham, Lauren JoplinSteve Welham, Lauren Joplin·March 5, 2026Engineering