Forever battling through the Great Firewall of China is Antal, our Web Developer. He ensures that everything is running smoothly under the hood here at clovio so that all our sites are efficient, quick, and reliable. If there’s ever a glitch he’s quick to step in and fix the problem to get us back on the road. He tells us what it’s like to work remotely in China, how to stay up-to-date on all the latest in web development, as well as stay active while working from home.
What does your role with clovio entail?
I provide front and back-end web stack solutions, help to solve any issues, continuously and proactively seek to improve site performance and user experience across all of clovio’s websites.
What is it like to work from China?
It’s challenging. The internet here is behind the Great Firewall of China, which means all the content from the outside world is actively censored and filtered. The only way to access invaluable resources is by using some kind of VPN service.
How does your ideal work setup look like?
Ideally at home, in close proximity of the coffee machine. I try to separate my work environment from distractions like food so that I can have a clean workspace.
I like to be active; I think it is unnatural to sit in a chair for hours. This is why I appreciate working from home so I can grab a snack and do some exercise in between work sessions. It’s much more time efficient than going to the gym. In an office setting, it would usually raise some eyebrows if someone starts doing jumping jacks on the office floor. Sometimes I like having music on in the background, something that is not some cookie-cutter pop song, but also not a dramatic action movie theme song either.
How do you like to relax after a day of work on clovio’s websites?
I love to work on the clovio sites and do web development. When there are some major changes that need to be done to the sites it can become a bit stressful since I want the sites to work well all of the time.
When I feel I need to do something different to relax and reset myself I really like to watch movies. Unfortunately, in the last few years the studios are mostly making remakes and superhero movies, so I prefer to study or play some board games instead.
How do you stay up-to-date on the latest novelties in web development?
The web development industry is one of the newest and therefore most dynamic, with technologies, standards, and best practices continuously evolving. I’m trying to separate my time learning between the universal principles and best practices. So I’m studying things like clean code, modular coding, and well-established standards, while spending some time learning about the upcoming technology stacks that will have a deep impact in the near future.
I believe it’s also important to understand some UX, SEO, and marketing principles to better communicate and understand the goals of what I’m working on, so I’m trying to acquire a wider range of knowledge as well in my free time.
Which advice do you have for those looking to work as a web developer?
It’s a long journey and it involves continuous learning. You should expect ongoing pressure to delve further and further into the subject. Focus on the core technologies HTML, CSS, JavaScript, networking, databases, API design, coding principles and keep up to date with the latest developments. Do it if these things inspire you, not because it’s the current trend.
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