This article originally published on jarednielsen.com
Here is a list of the best newsletters for web developers in 2020.
By best I mean my favorite.
Of the many great newsletters available for web developers, these are the 10 that I find give me a well-rounded perspective on current trends and must-know developments in our field with minimal redundancy and maximal entertainment value.
Note: This post is an update from my Best Newsletters for Web Developers in 2019. The changes? I removed Pony Foo as they took a month-long hiatus in November. While it is still one of the best newsletters out there, I’m reluctant to recommend it if its delivery won’t be consistent in 2020. I also removed Python Weekly, not because it isn’t a great newsletter, but to make room for newsletters that are either more specific to web development or more general to computer science.
Best Newsletters for Web Developers in 2020
Hacker Newsletter
If you subscribe to only one newsletter, this is it. It’s all here.
TL;DR
TL;DR is a daily dose of tech news curated for web developers. There are of course links to the big stories but also interesting GitHub repos and projects.
📨 TL;DR
JavaScript Weekly
In addition to updates on the rapidly evolving JavaScript ecosystem, this newsletter is loaded with tutorials for every skill level as well as links to new and interesting projects. And if you want to really nerd out, you can sign up for its sister publications, Node Weekly and React Status, but note that the most important stories bubble up to JavaScript Weekly.
Mozilla Developer Newsletter
Mozilla is killing it lately. The latest Firefox is a big win for both consumers and developers with emphasis on privacy and the new CSS developer tools, respectively. Their newsletter also gets better with each iteration, too.
📨 Mozilla Developer Newsletter
Daily Developer Tips
If you came of age in the era of jQuery or are just beginning to learn JavaScript, this is an excellent newsletter for leveling up on “vanilla JS” with practical, real-world scenarios. The author, Chris Ferdinandi, also addresses ethical questions that we as developers need to consider. FYI: This newsletter is primarily promotional.
Pointer
Pointer tends to address concerns related to management, both inter- and intra- personal. There is something perspective-changing in every issue, no matter where you are in your career trajectory as a web developer.
📨 Pointer
History of the Web
There is no urgency in reading this newsletter as it is all old news, but it is definitely in the need-to-know category. Each issue is a deep-dive into a ‘forgotten’ history of the web. The issues are always fascinating and always informative.
Programming Digest
This understated missive is excellent in its lean curation of high-level, language-agnostic articles on its stated topic. I look forward to its arrival every Sunday morning.
Morning Cup of Coding
Morning Cup of Coding is a very well-curated, terse list of articles. Most of the topics are not specific to web development. What separates it from the other newsletters on this list is an emphasis on quality writing. Each edition highlights three or four articles on computer science topics that are _human-_readable. If you’re in the States, you’ll receive this in the afternoon. Timezones bedevil newsletter curators, too!
Weekend Reads
Last but not least, the newsletter that equips me with memes for Monday. It’s a humorous mix of tweets, videos and GIFs (mostly) related to web development. Educational and entertaining!
One to Watch
The Overflow
Stack Overflow launched a newsletter this year as part of their effort to become a friendlier corner of the web. The content is all good, but because it's bi-weekly, there's overlap with some of the weekly's listed above.
📰 Best Newsletters for Web Developers?
What are your best newsletters? Let me know on Twitter @jarednielsen
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Top comments (6)
Love this! Thanks for the roundup!
My favorite, that I didn't see here is another CooperPress pub, called Frontend Focus: frontendfoc.us/
In the same vein as Javascript Weekly, etc., but covers a wider range of front-end web dev tech.
For React devs in 2022, there is also This Week In React
Good stuff, thanks! I subscribe to a bunch of newsletters and it's the main way I keep up with dev news. Another fantastic one is the CSS Tricks newsletter.
Great post! Excited about those you suggested I was previously did not know about.
Thanks for sharing! Definitely some I haven't heard of here 😎
Thanks for sharing. This is cool :)