Why I still write my own code

People ask why I hand-code websites when page builders exist. It's a fair question, the same way "why cook when microwave lasagna exists" is a fair question.

The honest answer: I like knowing where everything is. When a client asks me to move a button 4 pixels to the left, I don't want to negotiate with three plugins and a mysterious wrapper div called section-inner-container-wrapper-2.

What hand-coding gets you:

• Pages that load before your visitor finishes blinking
• Nothing you didn't ask for
• A code base a human can read, including future me at 2 a.m.

The best feature is the one you didn't have to add.