Here's how you can provide feedback to a struggling web application developer with a specific skill.

To support a struggling web application developer, focus on their challenge with responsive design. Emphasize mastering CSS Flexbox and Grid systems, essential for creating adaptable layouts. Suggest utilizing MDN resources and building small, responsive projects for hands-on practice. Encourage joining LinkedIn groups for additional guidance and peer feedback. Highlight the importance of persistence and continuous learning to overcome hurdles and advance their skills effectively.

It can be difficult to identify developer specific issues because: 1) Nobody can know everything. Developers are humans not machines 2) Everything continuously changes and out of date information is always returned from web searches so learning relevant things is always compromised. Information used to be reliable for much longer than it is now 3) Too many breaking changes in dependencies where a increment in version number breaks everything before it. Dependencies may not be written to the same standards as well engineered software. This is not the fault of the developer who often gets the blame. 4) Information being too scattered to find good nuggets of information. This is the true in most fields, but this is especially true in web-dev.

I once worked with a developer whose app had great potential but struggled with user retention due to a confusing UI. Instead of general feedback, I identified specific issues: cluttered menus and inconsistent button designs. I suggested streamlining the navigation and standardizing the button styles. Sharing examples of intuitive UIs from successful apps, I explained how these changes could improve usability. Implementing these recommendations, the developer saw a significant increase in user engagement. This experience highlighted the impact of targeted, actionable feedback in fostering meaningful improvements.

Most problems are caused by dependencies so keep software as simple as possible by minimizing their use. Every time a new version of someone else's software (eg a nuget/node package) is released it can break the application. Minimize use of libraries since whenever a library dependency is upgraded so is the application and breaking changes can and do occur. This increase maintenance burden and often organizations have least money allocated for maintenance

Think of learning like leveling up in a game, each course or challenge you conquer is like gaining XP points for your developer skills. Keep grinding and soon you'll be a web dev boss!!!

It's important to remember that struggling is a natural part of the learning process and can often lead to the most significant growth. First, try to Break It Down. When you encounter a complex problem, it can seem overwhelming. Break the task into smaller, more manageable parts. Focus on one piece at a time, and you'll find progress easier. Tackling smaller tasks can make the overall goal more achievable and less intimidating. Learn from Mistakes. Every error or bug you encounter is an opportunity to learn. Debugging and solving issues will make you a better developer. Instead of feeling frustrated by mistakes, view them as valuable learning experiences. Each problem solved is a step forward in your learning journey.

Struggling is normal in web development. It can help to work in a collaborative team rather than solo in competition with others as more minds can focus on a specific issue in context and come up with a solution quicker. It could be helpful to learn AI Prompting to assist AI as AI is getting increasingly used in Developer Tooling such as IDEs and may be used to selectively get more relevant/useful information whilst developing

The best way to help is to contribute something. Remember that Web Developers may be spending significant proportions of the time solving their own problems. Tenure has reduced significantly in most organizations so private communications may help too. There is a place for supporting general development and individuals training others

It is good to celebrate success especially when struggling for long periods of time. Web Development can and does overstress people and burnout is widely experienced. This means people are not getting the help they need to flourish and may underperform for long periods Some Developers are unwilling to share (possibly their skills/knowledge are power used for competition) but sooner or later they will reach a point they need some help and may find there is no one to help them.