Between the Brackets: Tracy Yu, Front-end Developer at Webstacks

Welcome back to another edition of Between the Brackets! 🚀 Today we're featuring Tracy Yu, Front-end Developer on our engineering team. She tells us about her hobbies and offers insightful advice to anyone interested in joining our team. Let's get right to it!

About Tracy

Howdy, Tracy - Tell us a little bit about yourself and about your role at Webstacks.

I’m a SoCal native who loves to travel looking for the next cool sunset spot or trying the latest restaurant popping up in my local neighborhood. I am a frontend developer at Webstacks who developed a passion for blending design and functionality in my day-to-day work.

You shared with us that you’re an avid traveler - Which travel destinations have been your favorite? Why?

I have a natural bias towards Hong Kong and Tokyo. I love destinations where I can spend days wandering through the metropolitan areas that are melting pots for food and culture.

But only a short drive away, I find myself surrounded by nature where I can hike along with mountain ranges or relax by the ocean.

Cats or dogs? (It’s okay to be biased)

I’ve always been a dog person, but after getting my kitten during quarantine, I’ve been converted to a cat person. 

Web Development at Webstacks

Which development software do you work with on a daily basis? Tell us your favorite (if you have a preference) and why.

I work with mainly Frontend technologies which include React for UI development and frontend frameworks such as Nextjs and Gatsbyjs. In addition, I have the opportunity to work with a few traditional and headless CMS like Contentful and Hubspot.

I will always have a bias towards using React with Next.js. React is simple to use and can scale up easily for larger applications and projects, while Nextjs is the wrapper that allows us to build fast engaging applications with minimal lag time for our clients.

If you had to select one, what web development project have you enjoyed working on the most? It can be one or multiple if you cannot choose one.

That’s a tough one. So far my favorite project has been working with Pattern on revamping their website and building customizable templates for their marketing/developers to rapidly launch website pages. It’s amazing to see how design translates into something tangible that our clients can use to build their web pages. Also, their website has some complex UIs, which has been helpful in developing my frontend skills.

What is one piece of advice you would give to someone considering a role as a Front-end Developer in the digital age?

Never be afraid to pivot your thought process when troubleshooting an issue. Web development is constantly evolving and technology can easily get outdated. It’s important to not get yourself stuck on one ideology to solve a problem, but rather take the opportunity to find another approach. There are many ways to solve a problem efficiently and in this digital age, so many online resources to use to our heart's content. Sometimes if we look at it from another perspective like how design interacts with functionality or what a typical client interacting with the website is like, it can get us to understand what problem we are solving. Through that understanding, we can formulate a focused solution. 

Company Culture

Now for some fun - What song or artist would you say reminds you of Webstacks?

Shelter by Porter Robinson 🎵

Share with us your favorite Webstacks memory so far.

My favorite Webstacks memory is the ‘Coffee Lunch and Learn’.

Even though I’m not a coffee drinker, it was cool to see everyone joking around and enjoy learning about an everyday staple beverage. Love seeing everyone in their own element at home and being their silly goofy self.

Being that you are one of the bunch who lives outside of San Diego, how do you manage to stay connected with the team? (Live chats, Slack, etc.)

Webstacks as a whole are the easiest people to communicate with and the most helpful! Since day one, everyone is very encouraging to slack about everything and anything even if it is just a quick ‘hello’ or cute puppy work pic. I love the ‘Lunch and Learn’ sessions we have once a month and the dev book club! It’s super informative but also gets us to take a break and just chat about how everything is going outside of our busy schedule.

This next question comes from Seric: What is your coin?

I’m all for the fun and memes of r/Wallstreetbets, so I have to say I did take part in the Dogecoin hype. 🐶

Before we let you go, what’s one question you want to ask the next Webstacker that we feature?

Agree or disagree: pineapple on pizza? 🍍

Editor's note: Webstacks is a full-stack marketing agency founded in 2020 that helps businesses accelerate growth by offering creative, marketing, development, and other services at scale. Webstacks is based in San Diego, California, with 30+ employees across the states. For business inquiries, please email hello@webstacks.com.