Josh is a Senior Web Developer at Trio Media. He works across a mix of client projects, helping to develop and maintain websites. Day-to-day, Josh is usually deep in code, working on new features, fixing bugs, improving performance, or collaborating with designers and project managers to bring ideas to life.
What drew you to website development?
I’ve always liked fixing things, the sense of fulfilment you get when you solve a problem, it’s what I live for, so when I learnt about web development, I was hooked. I started off building simple HTML websites, nothing major. When Bebo was still a thing, and you could customise your homepage with HTML / CSS, let’s just say mine was very “unique”!
As time went on, I learnt about WordPress, Shopify and Magento, each with its own unique way of building a website. I was fascinated by it, more WordPress than anything else, because it gave you so much freedom to do whatever you wanted. Ten years go by, and I’m still doing it and each week brings something new to explore.
Are there any key lessons you’ve learnt that influence your work today?
One of the key lessons I’ve learnt is the importance of keeping solutions as simple and maintainable as possible. I’ve come across many instances where a problem has been solved with an overly complex approach. While it may achieve the desired outcome, it often creates challenges later when another developer needs to understand the logic, troubleshoot an issue, or build on top of it.
I always aim to take a considered approach and look for the most effective, but simple solution, not the most complicated one. A well-structured, straightforward solution is easier to maintain, quicker to work with, and ultimately more sustainable for the long term.
What current website trends do you find most influential?
One trend that’s becoming increasingly popular nowadays is the rise of AI in web development, often referred to as “vibe coding”. It’s made building websites far more accessible and efficient, which is a big positive. However, a common drawback is that many AI-generated sites tend to follow similar design patterns, making them look and feel quite generic and boring.
Unless carefully guided, AI tools can produce code that is less structured and inconsistent across different areas of a site, particularly when multiple components are generated in isolation. This can make it more difficult for developers to maintain or extend the codebase later, as it may not follow a consistent pattern or framework. As a result, while the output can look and function well on the surface, it may require additional refinement to ensure it is robust and easy to manage long-term.
They’re good for a simple 2-3 page brochure website. But if you want something more specific, bespoke and something that really is a cohesive extension of your brand online, they’re not going to be a great fit. Which is why I think there’s still a strong case for bespoke website design and development.
What do you believe is the next big thing in website development?
AI will continue to be one of the biggest drivers in website development over the next few years. It’s already being integrated into everything from how sites are built to how content is generated and optimised. The ability to create a full website from prompts and examples is a huge step forward in terms of efficiency, and in many cases, the results are impressive.
That said, it’s not without its limitations. AI can still be inconsistent, and it doesn’t always recognise its own errors. That’s why human review remains essential. Having a developer review, refine and sense-check what’s been produced ensures the end result is accurate, reliable and aligned with the intended user experience. The real shift will be in how developers and AI work together, using it as a tool to enhance productivity rather than replace the need for technical expertise.
Do you have any tips for creating an effective website?
A key tip I always give is to be very intentional with plugins. It’s easy to install lots of them, but that can quickly slow a site down and create unnecessary complexity. Before adding a plugin, I always ask whether it genuinely solves a specific need and whether we will actually make full use of it. Quite often, the functionality already exists in the tools you use, so it is worth checking that first.
Themes are another important consideration. Choosing a well-built theme that already includes the core functionality and flexibility you need can reduce the reliance on additional plugins and help keep things streamlined. The fewer dependencies a site has, the easier it is to maintain and the less likely you are to run into conflicts.
Ultimately, keeping things simple and purposeful pays off in the long run. A lean, well-structured website is not only faster and more reliable, but also much easier to troubleshoot and maintain over time.
Tell me about a time when you plan but the result isn’t as expected.
Things don’t always behave how you expect them to in web development, and that’s something you get used to pretty quickly. Even when everything works on another system when moved to production, it can all backfire, and the way to solve that is to step back, have a minute and let your mind think about something else. This sounds counterintuitive but it does work as eventually it clicks and you realise what the issue could be.
It can be something daft like file permissions or a condition in your code that didn’t quite work how you thought it was going to. But in the end, it’s all learning, and even 10 years on, I’m still learning.
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