Dev Channels
Tailwind revenue down 80% because of AI
Kevin Powell
AI is killing Tailwind
Kevin Powell
AI KILLS 75% OF JOBS AT TAILWIND
Kevin Powell
Has AI killed Tailwind?
Kevin Powell
No more magic numbers with this modern CSS feature
Kevin Powell
The NEW React Activity Component Is a Game Changer for Performance
Web Dev Simplified
Build smarter color systems with relative colors
Kevin Powell
Every Project Needs This NEW Tanstack Library
Web Dev Simplified
This Unknown TypeScript Feature is a Must Have for Large Projects
Web Dev Simplified
Why CSS Grid feels complex, and how to keep it simple
Kevin Powell
I Love the NEW CSS Functions
Web Dev Simplified
Gemini CLI Tutorial #10 - Using the Nanobanana Extension
Net Ninja
Gemini CLI Tutorial #9 - MCP Servers & Extensions
Net Ninja
Gemini CLI Tutorial #8 - Running Shell Commands
Net Ninja
Everyone Is Missing What Makes NEW Shadcn Update Amazing
Web Dev Simplified
Why I stopped making coding tutorials
Traversy Media
Gemini CLI Tutorial #7 - Custom Commands
Net Ninja
Gemini CLI Tutorial #6 - Adding an API Key
Net Ninja
Gemini CLI Tutorial #5 - Managing Context
Net Ninja
The 2 Parts of Auth You Need To Know
Web Dev Simplified
Astro Blog
Tailwind CSS Blog
Future CSS: :drag (and Maybe ::dragged-image?)
Have you ever struggled to style an element while it's being dragged? Sunkanmi explains some ways it could become easier in the future. Future CSS: :drag (and Maybe ::dragged-image?) originally published on CSS-Tricks, which is part of the DigitalOcean family. You should get the newsletter.
Sunkanmi Fafowora·
Articlescsswgpseudo classes
What’s !important #2: Conditional View Transitions, CSS/SVG Text Effects, the Best of CSS Bluesky, and More
2026 is almost upon us. I know we’re all itching to see the clock strike midnight (cue The Final Countdown by Europe), but not without recapping the best CSS-related things that happened over the last two weeks! What’s !important #2: Conditional View Transitions, CSS/SVG Text Effects, the Best of CSS Bluesky, and More originally published on CSS-Tricks, which is part of the DigitalOcean family. You should get the newsletter.
Daniel Schwarz·
Articlesnews
Thank You (2025 Edition)
This is the best job I've had in my life and it's only possible because you keep showing up each day to read, learn, share, and discuss all-things-front-end (and a little CSS, of course) with us. Thank You (2025 Edition) originally published on CSS-Tricks, which is part of the DigitalOcean family. You should get the newsletter.
Geoff Graham·
Articles
text-decoration-inset is Like Padding for Text Decorations
The text-decoration-inset property solves a problem that we’ve had since the beginning of the web, which is that text decorations such as underlines extend beyond the first and last characters, resulting in vertical misalignment. text-decoration-inset is Like Padding for Text Decorations originally published on CSS-Tricks, which is part of the DigitalOcean family. You should get the newsletter.
Daniel Schwarz·
Articlestypography
Masonry Layout is Now grid-lanes
It's settled! A new CSS display property keyword called grid-lanes will trigger a masonry layout mode. Masonry Layout is Now grid-lanes originally published on CSS-Tricks, which is part of the DigitalOcean family. You should get the newsletter.
Sunkanmi Fafowora·
Articlescsswgmasonry
Penpot Is Experimenting With MCP Servers For AI-Powered Design Workflows
[Penpot](https://penpot.app/?utm_source=SmashingMagazine&utm_medium=Article&utm_campaign=MCPserver) is experimenting with MCP (Model Context Protocol) servers, which could lead to designers and developers being able to perform tasks in Penpot using AI that’s able to understand and interact with Penpot design files. Daniel Schwarz explains how [Penpot MCP](https://github.com/penpot/penpot-mcp) servers work, what they could mean for creating and managing designs in Penpot, and what you can do to help shape their development.
hello@smashingmagazine.com (Daniel Schwarz)·
Pivoting Your Career Without Starting From Scratch
Most developers spend their days fixing bugs, shipping features, and jumping into the next sprint without even thinking about it. After a while, you begin to ask yourself, “Is this still what I want to be doing?” This article looks at how you can move into a new direction in your career without starting from scratch, and how the skills you already use, like problem-solving, communication, and empathy, can open new doors.
hello@smashingmagazine.com (Joas Pambou)·
Countdown To New Adventures (January 2026 Wallpapers Edition)
Whether 2026 has already begun as you’re reading this or you’re still waiting for the big countdown to start, how about some new wallpapers to get your desktop ready for the new year? We’ve got you covered.
hello@smashingmagazine.com (Cosima Mielke)·
How To Design For (And With) Deaf People
Practical UX guidelines to keep in mind for 466 million people who experience hearing loss. More design patterns in Smart Interface Design Patterns, a **friendly video course on UX** and design patterns by Vitaly.
hello@smashingmagazine.com (Vitaly Friedman)·
Giving Users A Voice Through Virtual Personas
Turn scattered user research into AI-powered personas that give anyone consolidated multi-perspective feedback from a single question.
hello@smashingmagazine.com (Paul Boag)·
Monthly Getting Started / Web Dev Career Thread
Due to a growing influx of questions on this topic, it has been decided to commit a monthly thread dedicated to this topic to reduce the number of repeat posts on this topic. These types of posts will no longer be allowed in the main thread. Many of these questions are also addressed in the sub FAQ or may have been asked in previous monthly career threads. Subs dedicated to these types of questions include r/cscareerquestions for general and opened ended career questions and r/learnprogramming for early learning questions. A general recommendation of topics to learn to become industry ready include: HTML/CSS/JS Bootcamp Version control Automation Front End Frameworks (React/Vue/Etc) APIs and CRUD Testing (Unit and Integration) Common Design Patterns You will also need a portfolio of work with 4-5 personal projects you built, and a resume/CV to apply for work. Plan for 6-12 months of self study and project production for your portfolio before applying for work. submitted by /u/AutoModerator [link] [comments]
/u/AutoModerator·
I got tired of facebook stealing my focus so made a safari and chrome extension
and after spending time in the fb react dom I feel like I need to shower. You may wonder why fb is shit on web. Its because its dom is ludicrously deep and obfuscated. To take one example, the word “Promoted” is a string of giant spans for each letter, with random number of them set to display:none. Every class is a random 8 letter string and there aRe thousands of them. Divs are nested 100 levels deep. Anyway I built a safari mobile and desktop and chrome desktop extension and the next step is to get it approved for the extension store. If apple and google dont cover for their buddy zuck and reject it. also screw facebook, with the extension blurring out content it becomes obvious that 95% of what you are shown is not what you want to see by joining fb groups. I am in two dozen fb groups all active and yet of a morning, only 5% of my fb fyp OR THE GROUPS TAB are cards from those groups. the rest is algo slop and paid promotion and one has zero control over that. Click all the not interested links you like, there is always more. submitted by /u/Street-Air-546 [link] [comments]
/u/Street-Air-546·
First merge in 23 hours - OpenChaos, a repo where the internet votes on PRs and the winner ships
Posted here last week about openchaos.dev - a repo where PRs compete for votes and the winner gets merged. First merge happens tomorrow at 09:00 UTC. Current standings: "Calculate +1 and -1 reactions" - 124 votes (leading) "Rewrite it in rust" - 40 votes "Add PR health indicators" - 39 votes "Always use light mode in dark mode, vice versa" - 29 votes "IE6 mode, welcome back to GeoCities in 1999" - 23 votes "Added dickbutt" - 23 votes Best moment so far: "Vote to shut it down" PR author withdrew citing "big money funded PRs" plotting against him. I also withdrew my own dark mode PR (228 votes) to keep the first merge purely community-driven. openchaos.dev | github.com/skridlevsky/openchaos submitted by /u/Equivalent-Yak2407 [link] [comments]
/u/Equivalent-Yak2407·
Is it worth building a forum
I’m a cs student and i’m gonna have some time on my hands and I think a project I’d wanna start is to make a forum website. This isn’t really a technical question but like an audience based question, do people still use forums online. Obviously reddit is one but I feel like it’s the only one, is there a chance that I’d be able to attract users or should I steer in a different direction submitted by /u/Vxris_ [link] [comments]
/u/Vxris_·
RIP description
But really? How did this manage to happen? submitted by /u/Formal_Till [link] [comments]
/u/Formal_Till·
Schemocker - Build React/Next/Vue UIs before your backend exists — turn a JSON schema into a live API in under 60 seconds.
To install run: npm install -g schemocker https://www.npmjs.com/package/schemocker https://github.com/toxzak-svg/schemocker Copy a schema, run one command, and instantly start building your UI: // user-schema.json { "type": "object", "properties": { "id": { "type": "string", "format": "uuid" }, "name": { "type": "string" }, "email": { "type": "string", "format": "email" } } } schemock start user-schema.json → http://localhost:3000/api/data returns realistic user data // React/Vue/Next.js - just fetch! fetch('http://localhost:3000/api/data' .then(res => res.json()) .then(data => setUser(data));) That's it. No backend required. No hardcoded JSON. No waiting. Get your React, Next.js, or Vue app connected to a mock API in 5 minutes — no backend required. Ready-Made Schemas for Common Use Cases Don't want to write schemas from scratch? Use included ready-to-run examples. Feedback is always appreciated! submitted by /u/Interesting-Ad4922 [link] [comments]
/u/Interesting-Ad4922·
The DOM before hydration vs after: I didn’t expect this much drift
I was working on a production issue the other day and ended up questioning something I usually take for granted: what I actually mean when I say “the page”. I generally reason in components and layout. Header, cards, sections, CTAs. That model works fine most of the time, but it started to feel shaky once I looked at what the page actually looks like over time. So I took a real page and looked at it in three different states. 1. Raw HTML from the server Just the document as returned. No JS running. A few things stood out right away: Heading levels were there, but the order didn’t line up with how the page reads visually A section that clearly anchors the page in the UI wasn’t present at all A lot of relationships I assumed were “content” were really just layout doing the work 2. DOM before any scripts run Paused execution right before hydration. This is where it got weird. Content existed, but grouping felt loose or ambiguous Elements that seem tightly connected in the UI had no structural relationship One block I’d consider core was just a placeholder node at this point At this stage, anchor links pointed to different sections than they did after load. 3. DOM after hydration This is the version I usually think of as “the page”. Compared to the earlier snapshots: Nodes had been reordered One content block existed twice, once hidden and once interactive The structure changed enough that event binding and measurement ended up attaching to different elements depending on timing All the three states are valid and all three are different. None of them is particularly stable over time. What clicked for me is that different systems end up anchoring to different snapshots. Debugging usually happens against one. Instrumentation binds to another. Users end up seeing the transitions between them. Once I put these side by side, a few things I’d been confused about stopped seeming random: anchor links behaving inconsistently duplicate events firing under certain load conditions measurements that looked off but were actually attached to a different DOM This isn’t a take against client-side rendering or visual hierarchy. You can design around most of this, and lots of teams do. It just feels like these gaps come in slowly as codebases evolve. At this point I’ve stopped thinking of “the page” as a single thing. It’s more like a sequence of DOM states, each internally consistent, each visible to different observers. Curious how others deal with this. Do you pick a canonical snapshot and work backwards, or do you plan with the assumption that the DOM is always a moving target? submitted by /u/SonicLinkerOfficial [link] [comments]
/u/SonicLinkerOfficial·
How would a UX designer start getting into frontend?
I work on a very small with limited developers. I was brought on haphazardly as a designer with limited coding experience. Something that's been on the backburner is a redesign which was actually designed by a different UI team. It's great, it would be great for usability, sales, brand...there's just not any time for our devs to get into it. What I'd like to do is "make" some of the pieces of the new UI, and when there is bandwidth from the developers, they can plug those in. I want to get more involved in the codebase.I have bandwidth, there's not a severe timeline on this, and with AI I feel there's no better time to try and learn basic coding skills. I know there's some surrounding stuff I have to learn, and I'd be willing to spend some time sitting through some lessons...I just have no idea where to even start. Does anyone have recommendations of how I can even begin to tackle this? I'd prefer to do this in an isolated environment (like Storybook), and build off of something like TailwindCSS. Is this the right path, and what would I need to do to get started? I do plan on meeting with the main dev, but I don't feel like I'm well-equipped with even some basic questions for what I'd need to know. submitted by /u/tomorrows-yarrow [link] [comments]
/u/tomorrows-yarrow·
Avoiding TanStack Form Pitfalls
submitted by /u/mhuggins [link] [comments]
/u/mhuggins·
Our Favourite Tailwind CSS is dying!
This surprised me. Tailwind usage keeps growing, but the business behind it is shrinking hard. Docs traffic down, revenue down, engineers laid off. Nothing about the framework actually got worse. I spent some time understanding what broke and why AI plays a bigger role here than most people think. Link if you’re curious: https://www.hexplain.space/blog/uYtQsuNg7indR7Q2p1CU submitted by /u/third_void [link] [comments]
/u/third_void·
Who Owns This? Why Project Ownership Matters More Than Ever
TL;DR For years, software teams have relied on familiar titles like Project Manager, Product Manager, and Tech Lead. But recently, a different term has started to surface across startups, AI teams, and infra-heavy projects. Project Owner. This isn’t just a rebranding. It’s a response to how modern software is actually built. Today’s projects rarely follow clean, predictable plans. Requirements change mid-sprint. AI systems behave differently in production. MVPs turn into platforms faster than expected. In this environment, one question keeps coming up: who owns this? Not who manages the timeline. Not who runs the meetings. Who takes responsibility when decisions are unclear and when things break. That’s where the idea of a Project Owner begins. A Project Owner is not just a coordinator. They are accountable for the end-to-end outcome of a project. They define what actually matters, make trade-offs under real constraints, decide when to ship and when not to, and take responsibility for failures as well as successes. Most importantly, they connect product intent, technical reality, and execution. When something goes wrong, the Project Owner doesn’t escalate the problem. They act. This role became critical as AI-driven and infrastructure-heavy systems changed the rules. You can’t fully specify behavior in advance. You can’t predict every edge case. You can’t rely on static plans. Agent workflows, orchestration layers, and distributed systems require continuous judgment, not just execution. A Project Owner owns ambiguity. They learn from production behavior. They treat deployment as feedback, not the finish line. That’s why this role resonates so strongly in AI teams, platform engineering, and developer-focused products. Developers feel unclear ownership first. They experience endless handoffs, conflicting priorities, decisions that never quite get made, and systems no one fully owns. A clear Project Owner changes that. Decisions happen faster. Accountability is clear. Political overhead is reduced. Systems improve. This isn’t about hierarchy. It’s about clarity. Traditional roles still matter. Project Managers focus on timelines and coordination. Product Managers focus on features and user value. Tech Leads focus on technical quality. The Project Owner focuses on end-to-end execution and outcomes. They don’t replace other roles. They connect them and take responsibility when trade-offs are unavoidable. Project Owner works as a term because it reflects how modern teams actually operate. Fewer layers. Faster iteration. Real accountability. Stronger execution culture. It’s not a title you assign. It’s a role you earn by owning the outcome. If a project doesn’t have a clear owner, it doesn’t really have a future. It just has meetings. And that’s why Project Owner isn’t just a trendy term. It’s becoming a necessity. Learn more about SelaNetwork
Sela Network·
aiproductivitysoftwaredevelopment
MCP Token Limits: The Hidden Cost of Tool Overload
You add a few MCP servers. GitHub for code, Notion for docs, maybe Slack for notifications. Suddenly Claude feels... slower. Less helpful. It misses context you explicitly provided. It gives generic answers to specific questions. Here's a stat that stopped me cold: the GitHub MCP server alone consumes 55,000 tokens across its 93 tool definitions. That's before you ask Claude anything. Before you paste any code. Before the conversation even starts. Developer Scott Spence measured his MCP setup and found 66,000 tokens consumed at conversation start - one third of Claude Sonnet's 200k context window, gone. As the CodeRabbit team put it: "Most of us are now drowning in the context we used to beg for." MCP token usage has become the silent killer of AI productivity. You install more tools hoping for more capability, and end up with less. Every MCP server you connect loads its tool definitions into Claude's context. The formula is brutal: servers × tools per server × tokens per tool = context consumed Real numbers from popular MCP servers: GitHub MCP: 55,000 tokens (93 tools) Notion MCP: ~8,000 tokens (15+ tools) Filesystem MCP: ~4,000 tokens (10 tools) Average tool definition: 300-600 tokens. That includes the tool name, description, parameter schemas, and examples. Run the math on a typical power user setup: 10 servers × 15 tools average × 500 tokens = 75,000 tokens gone. That's over a third of your context window consumed by tool descriptions you might never use. The tipping point comes faster than you'd expect. Cursor enforces a hard limit of 40 tools - they learned that more causes problems. Claude's output quality visibly degrades after 50+ tools. The model starts chasing tangents, referencing tools instead of your actual question. MCP token limits aren't theoretical. They're the reason your AI assistant "forgot" what you told it three messages ago. Token bloat isn't just expensive. It actively makes your AI worse. But let's talk money first. Real numbers. As of January 2026, Claude Opus 4.5 costs $5 per million input tokens. Say you have a DevOps team of 5 people. Each developer's MCP setup consumes 75,000 tokens at conversation start. Each dev runs maybe 10 AI conversations per day. The math: Per day: 75,000 tokens × 5 devs × 10 conversations = 3.75 million input tokens Daily cost: $18.75 - just for MCP tool definitions nobody asked for Monthly (20 work days): $375 burned on context that describes tools you might never use That's $375/month your team pays for token overhead. Not for actual AI work. For tool descriptions sitting in context. With hierarchical routing (1,400 tokens instead of 75,000): Monthly tokens: 1.4 million instead of 75 million Monthly cost: $7 instead of $375 Savings: $368/month, or 98% Now, cost is one thing. But the real damage isn't your API bill. Relevance decay: When 100 tool definitions compete with your actual prompt, the signal drowns. Claude sees "create_github_issue" and "update_notion_page" when you're asking about a Python bug. Irrelevant context dilutes relevant context. Model confusion: Large language models have finite attention. Force them to process 75,000 tokens of tool schemas, and less attention remains for your code, your question, your context. The dependency hell parallel: Developer Jamie Duncan nailed this analogy. "Treating context windows as infinite resources creates unsustainable systems, just as infinite dependency installation historically created bloated software." We've been here before. npm node_modules memes exist for a reason. MCP is following the same pattern: install everything, worry about consequences later. Except with MCP, the consequence is immediate. Your AI gets dumber in real-time. Here's where it gets interesting. Individual developers have options. Tools like code-mode, ToolHive, and Lazy Router implement hierarchical routing - exposing two meta-tools instead of hundreds. Token usage drops 90-98%. Problem solved, for solo developers. But then you hire a second developer. Developer one has their MCP config dialed in. Twenty servers, custom settings, credentials stored locally. Developer two joins and asks: "How do I set up MCP?" "Copy my config file. Oh, and you'll need these API keys. I'll Slack them to you." Sound familiar? At five developers, chaos emerges: Five different configurations. Dev 1 uses GitHub MCP v2.3. Dev 4 is on v2.1. Dev 5 couldn't get it working and disabled it. Nobody knows whose setup is "correct." Credentials everywhere. API keys in Slack DMs. Tokens in .env files. Secrets in password managers, sticky notes, and "that doc I shared last month." You have no idea what credentials exist, who has access to what, or which ones are still active. No visibility. Which MCP tools access customer data? Which have write permissions to production systems? Nobody knows. Nobody's tracking it. Onboarding nightmare. New developer joins. Two hours minimum to replicate the team's MCP setup. More if something breaks - and something always breaks. The security time bomb. Developer leaves the company. Their laptop has API keys to GitHub, Notion, Slack, and your internal tools. Who rotates those credentials? Who even knows what they had access to? Every MCP token reduction tool solves the individual problem. None of them solve the team problem. No credential vault. No role-based access control. No audit logging. No team isolation. No centralized configuration. The gap in the market isn't token reduction. It's team management. The technical fix is elegant. Instead of loading 100 tools into context, you expose just two: discover_mcp_tools(query) - Search across all your MCP servers execute_mcp_tool(tool_path, args) - Run the specific tool you need That's it. The AI searches for relevant tools on demand, then executes them. No upfront loading of everything. The math transforms: Before: 10 servers × 15 tools × 500 tokens = 75,000 tokens After: 2 meta-tools × ~700 tokens = 1,400 tokens A 98% reduction in MCP token usage. Context window reclaimed. This method is now table stakes. Multiple tools implement it. DeployStack's implementation is documented in detail at docs.deploystack.io/development/satellite/hierarchical-router. But token reduction alone doesn't solve the team problem. What makes MCP tooling team-ready: Credential vault: API keys stored encrypted, auto-injected at runtime. No more tokens in Slack. One URL for the whole team: Add a single endpoint to your config. Everyone gets the same servers, same settings, same tools. Role-based access: Control who can use which MCP servers. Interns don't need production database access. Audit logging: Know which tools accessed what data, when, by whom. Individual developers can get by with local configs and manual credential management. Teams can't. If you're a solo developer hitting MCP token limits, you have options. Code-mode and ToolHive work well. Pick whichever fits your workflow. If you're running a team - five developers, ten, twenty - you need more than token reduction. You need credential management. Access control. Visibility into what's actually happening across your MCP setup. One URL. Everyone gets the same setup. No more "works on my machine" for MCP. MCP token limits are a solved problem. Team MCP management isn't - until now.
Piotr Hajdas·
mcpdevopsai
SQL INJECTION
🚨 SQL Injection (Injeção de SQL): o básico que todo dev precisa saber 🔴 O que é? ❌ Exemplo inseguro: SELECT * FROM users WHERE email = '$email' AND senha = '$senha'; Se o atacante usar: ⚠️ Como é explorado? ✅ Como evitar: 🔐 Conclusão: SQL Injection não é bug “avançado” — é falha básica de segurança que ainda causa grandes incidentes. CyberSecurity #AppSec #SQLInjection #SecureCoding #DevSecOps
Rodrino Adolfo Kupessala·
I can finally use MCPs without fear
MCP promised to make agentic coding fast and powerful, instead it overwhelmed the senses of the LLMs that we trusted to write code for us. Even Anthropic took notice that context is the modern day coding juice that we are all dependent on. Their solution farm the whole thing out to typescript and write a bunch of integration code to build the whole infrastructure from scratch. Instead, I had Claude write a custom programming language, the Simple Language for Orchestrating Prompts or SLOP and shoved it into an MCP Turducken to call and automate other MCPs. Reading the Anthropic paper on the issue https://www.anthropic.com/engineering/code-execution-with-mcp and having written my own chat apps with the same architecture, I realized that making Javascript or Python safe for deployment anywhere was going to be a huge task that everyone is eventually going to bear the burden of. Instead I figured how about creating a simple language that solves this one problem and SLOP was born. I quickly realized that the search and metadata services were the clear winners when Claude code just picked up searching for tools and calling them through the generic interface without a hitch. Please give it a try: https://github.com/standardbeagle/slop-mcp I've got 318 tools installed and Claude Code is cranking along fine without issue.
Andy Brummer·
aimcpagents
16+ Free HTML Admin Dashboard Templates for SaaS
Every few months, someone declares HTML dashboards “obsolete.” And every month, teams still ship internal tools, admin panels, and analytics dashboards using plain HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. If you’re building: internal admin tools MVP dashboards reporting or analytics panels back-office SaaS views HTML dashboards remain one of the lowest-friction ways to ship. No framework churn. No hydration issues. No vendor lock-in. This post lists free HTML admin dashboard templates that developers actually use in production, not UI demos built for screenshots. HTML dashboards work especially well when: the dashboard is internal-facing SEO is irrelevant backend controls data rendering the UI needs to stay stable long-term For many teams, React/Vue is overkill for tables + charts + KPIs. The templates below are used for: website & traffic analytics marketing performance dashboards e-commerce admin panels internal reporting tools SaaS back-office systems All of them support real data wiring, not just static UI previews. This isn’t a “top 20 UI kits” post. Each template was evaluated based on developer-centric criteria, including: readable, maintainable HTML public GitHub repositories real usage in admin or analytics tools layouts designed for charts, tables, and KPIs suitability for SaaS and internal dashboards Every template below can survive actual production use. Check Area What to Verify Why It Matters in Production License MIT, Apache-2.0, or similarly permissive license Prevents legal issues when shipping internal tools or commercial admin panels HTML Structure Semantic tags (header, nav, main, section, table) with minimal inline logic Makes DOM manipulation, accessibility, testing, and backend integration easier CSS Architecture SCSS sources or utility-first CSS (e.g. Tailwind) Prevents CSS sprawl and enables scalable theming as dashboards grow Chart Readiness Clear integration points for Chart.js, ApexCharts, or similar libraries Required for real KPI tracking, analytics, and reporting dashboards Component Modularity Pages, widgets, and layouts split into reusable sections Allows incremental changes without refactoring the entire dashboard Responsive Grid Behavior Predictable breakpoints and column behavior Ensures dashboards stay usable across screen sizes Performance Footprint Reasonable DOM depth, limited JS bundles, no blocking assets Prevents slow load times in data-heavy admin and analytics dashboards If a dashboard template fails two or more checks above, it usually becomes tech debt within a few months. Below are free HTML dashboard templates, explained by real-world usage, not marketing features. Tailwindadmin Best for: SaaS analytics, website metrics, internal reporting A predictable Tailwind-based HTML dashboard that stays readable even as analytics complexity grows. Stack: HTML, Tailwind CSS, TypeScript GitHub Stars: 60 Why it works: Utility-first CSS gives layout control without hacks Clear separation between layout and data Suitable for long-lived analytics dashboards Spike Best for: Lightweight backend dashboards A minimal HTML admin template designed for quick backend dashboards. Best when you need charts and tables up fast without UI overhead. Stack: HTML5, Bootstrap 5, Sass, jQuery, ApexCharts GitHub Stars: 17 Why it works: Quick backend integration Low UI overhead Focused on data visibility MatDash Best for: Reporting-heavy dashboards A reporting-focused dashboard with clear spacing and structure. Works well for data-heavy views where tables and charts matter more than visuals. Stack: HTML, Bootstrap 5, Sass, jQuery GitHub Stars: 21 Why it works: Consistent grid system Easy chart extension Stable reporting layout MaterialM Best for: Internal admin panels A straightforward admin template for small to medium internal tools. Keeps metrics, tables, and actions clearly separated without extra UI layers. Stack: HTML, Bootstrap 5, Sass, jQuery, ApexCharts GitHub Stars: 8 Why it works: Simple HTML customization Clear metric groupings Good for internal tools Modernize Best for: E-commerce analytics dashboards An analytics-oriented dashboard used for e-commerce and business reporting. The layout supports KPI tracking and multi-section dashboards. Stack: HTML, Bootstrap 5, Sass, jQuery GitHub Stars: 32 Why it works: KPI-focused layout Organized navigation Scales with data complexity MaterialPRO Best for: Multi-KPI admin dashboards Built for dashboards that need to show multiple datasets at once. Useful for admin panels where density and readability both matter. Stack: HTML, Bootstrap 5, Sass, jQuery GitHub Stars: 19 Why it works: Grid-based reporting Designed for multiple datasets Suitable for SaaS admin panels FreeDash Best for: Internal analytics & ops dashboards A stable HTML dashboard often used for long-running internal tools. The structure scales well as reporting needs grow over time. Stack: HTML, Bootstrap 5, Sass, jQuery GitHub Stars: 117 Why it works: Clean, scalable structure Multiple dashboard-ready pages Easy to extend over time Hope UI Best for: Modular analytics dashboards A modular HTML dashboard system with reusable layout blocks. Suitable for analytics views that need flexible composition. Stack: HTML, Bootstrap 5, JavaScript GitHub Stars: 26 Why it works: Modular architecture Template-friendly structure Useful for marketing dashboards Tabler Best for: Production-grade analytics products A production-proven admin template used across many real products. Handles complex dashboards with multiple views and components reliably. Stack: HTML, Bootstrap 5, SCSS GitHub Stars: 40.6k+ Why it works: Massive component ecosystem Used in real products Handles complex dashboards AdminOne Best for: Bulma-based dashboards A Bulma-based alternative to Bootstrap dashboards. Good fit if you want clean HTML without JavaScript framework dependencies. Stack: HTML, Bulma CSS, SCSS GitHub Stars: 284 Why it works: No JS framework dependency Clean layout system Simple admin navigation Startmin Best for: Small reporting tools A simple, no-frills admin template for basic reporting needs. Works best for small dashboards where customization matters more than features. Stack: HTML, Bootstrap, JavaScript GitHub Stars: 271 Why it works: Easy to modify Lightweight structure Minimal dependencies Voler Best for: Fast-loading internal dashboards A lightweight dashboard focused on speed and clarity. Commonly used for internal admin panels with straightforward metrics. Stack: HTML, Bootstrap 5, JavaScript GitHub Stars: 567 Why it works: Lightweight DOM Clear navigation Metrics-first layout Kiaalap Best for: Education & data-heavy admin systems A data-heavy admin template originally built for education systems. Useful when your dashboard needs many structured pages and views. Stack: HTML, Bootstrap 5, Vite, JavaScript GitHub Stars: 314 Why it works: Multiple dashboard layouts Pre-built domain pages Scales for large systems PlainAdmin Best for: Feature-rich backend systems A feature-rich HTML dashboard with extensive UI coverage. Suitable for backend systems that need many components without using a frontend framework. Stack: HTML, Bootstrap 5, Vanilla JS GitHub Stars: 394 Why it works: Massive UI coverage Multiple dashboard variants Framework-free Portal Best for: Structured reporting portals A structured admin dashboard designed around clear navigation and reporting flows. Works well for internal portals and analytics hubs. Stack: HTML, Bootstrap 5, JavaScript, Chart.js GitHub Stars: 371 Why it works: Clear information architecture SCSS sources included Good for reporting workflows FAQs Can these handle live KPI dashboards? Yes. Wire charts to backend APIs using Chart.js or ApexCharts. Are these suitable for SaaS admin panels? Yes — especially templates with modular layouts and KPI sections. Which one should I start with? Pick based on data density and dashboard lifespan, not visuals. You can choose Tailwindadmin or MaterialM. HTML admin dashboards are still a practical, production-ready choice. They shine when: dashboards are internal data changes more than UI long-term stability matters If you’ve shipped dashboards with HTML recently, drop your experience in the comments — especially what broke and what scaled well. That discussion is usually more valuable than the templates themselves.
Sunil Joshi·
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