Nguyen Le - Not a JavaScript Developer (But Look What He Built)

When I first connected with Nguyen Le, I was struck by two things: his modesty and the flicker of passion behind every word he typed. There’s a deep sincerity in how he talks about design, web development, and the Svelte community. This is the kind of energy that reminds me that tech is, at its core, deeply human.

Nguyen didn’t come from a traditional CS background.

At the time, I only knew HTML/CSS and was looking for something to help turn my designs into real websites.

That “something” turned out to be Svelte. Thanks to a Fireship video (I’m a huge fan, too), he started his journey with Svelte and never looked back. The simplicity of the syntax and the ease of diving in clicked with his design-first mindset:

It feels like working with plain JavaScript, HTML, and CSS.

#Firechat with Nguyen Le

Q: One fun fact about you?
A: I can build apps but I don’t consider myself a JS developer. I still look up even basic JS functions, using resources like MDN, W3C. Proof that Svelte is very intuitive and easy to use, right?

Q: Describe your Svelte journey in one emoji
A: 🔥 Svelte really fired up my passion for web dev. It helps me turn my designs into functional apps

Q: If you could pair-program with anyone? Who?
A: Hard to pick! I admire a lot of people in the field of UI/UX, programming, and 3D, but usually, I work alone. However, if I have to choose one, that would be Adam Argyle.

Q: Debugging approach?
A: Tabs open: Svelte docs, Chrome DevTools, Gemini chat. Sometimes I even talk to Cline 😑.

Q: Most difficult concept?
A: Probably the new Runes concepts, because I'm used to the simple variable declarations of Svelte 4. Perhaps what I've done only involves the basics, so I haven't touched the really difficult parts yet.

Q: Recent favourite Svelte snippet?
A: I love using #key in Svelte for smooth page transitions. It's so easy and satisfying.

{#key data.pathname}
	<PageTransition/>
{/key}

What Nguyen may not say outright is how resourceful he is. He said that he doesn’t really know JavaScript. Yet this “non-JS developer” built a full Chrome extension called Summarizerrrr that summarizes YouTube videos, Reddit threads, and more, an idea born from his desire to save time and scratch his own itch.

We could all use a bit more of that spirit.

#Resources Nguyen Recommends

• Google’s guide to modern web development
• UI/UX philosophy and techniques
• Web Interface Guidelines
• Nerdy.dev – Modern CSS tips from Adam Argyle
• Josh W Comeau – Great deep dives into Flex, Grid, and frontend magic