Progressive Enhancement
ELI5 — The Vibe Check
Progressive Enhancement is the philosophy of building the basics first (HTML that works), then layering on CSS and JavaScript like frosting on a cake. If JavaScript fails, the cake still tastes good. Your site should work for everyone, then get fancy for modern browsers.
Real Talk
Progressive Enhancement is a web design strategy that builds core functionality with basic HTML and CSS, then progressively adds advanced features using JavaScript and modern APIs for capable browsers. It ensures baseline accessibility and functionality regardless of client capabilities.
When You'll Hear This
"Forms should work without JavaScript - that's progressive enhancement" / "HTMX and Remix bring progressive enhancement back to modern frameworks"
Related Terms
Graceful Degradation
Graceful degradation means your app keeps working with reduced functionality when something breaks. Recommendation engine down? Show popular items instead.
HTMX
HTMX looked at the entire JavaScript ecosystem and said 'nah.' It lets your server send back HTML instead of JSON, and your page updates itself like magic.
Polyfill
A polyfill is a piece of code that teaches old browsers new tricks. Browser doesn't support Promise? Here's a polyfill that fakes it.