Alright, you know how sometimes an app feels like it’s keeping up with you, and other times it’s just… lagging?
Yeah, that’s what I care about. When I say “real-time,” I mean it. Not just in a polished demo, but when you’re actually using it, collaborating with your team, tracking live data, or interacting in real time. It should just work.
I usually start with React and Next.js, but I don’t think of things as “pages.” More like live spaces that need to stay in sync. I’m always asking: when does this data load? How long is it good for? What happens when something changes? I use TypeScript to keep things from breaking in weird ways, and tools like TanStack Query to make sure what you see is what’s actually happening. And if I add animation, with something like Framer Motion, it’s not for decoration. It’s to help your eyes follow what’s important.
On the back end, with Node.js, it’s all about what happens when things get real. Real apps have to line tasks up, retry stuff that fails, and keep conversations alive without dropping them. I use Redis and BullMQ to handle background jobs smoothly, and when things need to feel instant, like live cursors or voice. I reach for WebSockets or WebRTC. This stuff has taught me where systems slow down under pressure, and honestly, sometimes it’s better to fail nicely than to be fast and brittle.
I choose databases based on what we’re doing: PostgreSQL when we need structure and safety, MongoDB when things are more loose and flexible, and MySQL for the steady, predictable work. Everything runs in containers (Docker) and gets served through Nginx, clean, secure, and easy to update without breaking stuff.
And if AI fits into a project, I bring it in slowly. It has to respect privacy, not slow everything down, and actually help, not just be a flashy add-on. AI is part of the system, not the whole point.
