Why is it important to follow Coding Standards and Coding Conventions?

Andrey Diskin
June 5, 2025

Not once or twice have I heard things like, “Why should I follow this? It works just fine for me,” or, “I know what’s best for this project, why should I follow their conventions?”

It’s easy to ignore coding standards and conventions as unnecessary, especially when everything seems to be working well for you. But here’s the thing: a codebase with consistent styles and patterns isn’t just about personal preferences - it’s about creating an environment that’s easier to work with, understand, and maintain.

So, what’s the difference between coding standards and coding conventions? In simple terms, standards are formal rules that ensure code quality & consistency across projects, while conventions are agreed-upon practices for style and structure of a language or a project. 

For example, a language convention in JavaScript or TypeScript is to use camelCase for variables, so you wouldn’t use kebab-case. On the other hand, a project convention might be to use camelCase for folder names, even though folder naming doesn't have a universal standard, unlike variables or functions. If the project adopts this convention, you should follow it.

An example for coding standards in action is using simple tools like ESLint (a linting tool that analyzes your code and provides feedback as you type) and Prettier (a formatter for consistent style). While these might seem trivial to you, they enforce coding standards and help catching common errors early, and it's much easier to review and maintain code that is formatted and well-organized.

But why does this matter? consistent code isn’t just about aesthetics - it makes the code easier to read & review. Imagine working on a large team where everyone uses their own styles. Reviewing code would become a nightmare, and onboarding new developers would take longer. Tools like linters catch issues early, and formatted code saves precious time during code reviews.

In the end, following coding standards and conventions isn’t about limiting creativity, it’s about making collaboration easier and creating software that’s simpler to maintain and grow. Think of it as a shared language - one that makes sure everyone on the team is speaking the same "dialect". That’s how great software gets built.

Andrey Diskin
June 5, 2025
why-is-it-important-to-follow-coding-standards-and-coding-conventions

Related Articles

A Beginner's Guide to Understanding UI and UX

- UI (User Interface) and UX (User Experience) design both focus on the user but address needs differently. UI deals with the look and layout, making the interface attractive. UX, however, focuses on how the user interacts with the product, ensuring a smooth journey. - A UI designer creates visual elements, making a product visually appealing and easy to navigate. In contrast, a UX designer designs the overall flow and operation of the product, ensuring each step is intuitive and easy. - UI design is guided by making the product visually pleasing and intuitive. UX design is about making the user's journey smooth and efficient. - Average salaries for UI designers start at $50,000 and can increase up to $85,000 with skills and experience. For UX designers, salaries start around $60,000, with potential earning up to $95,000. - UI and UX overlap in influencing user interaction. UI focuses on visual design and placement, while UX looks at ease of navigation. UI design affects UX, with poorly designed elements resulting in a bad user experience.

Read blog post

The Complexities of Software as a Service Architecture

- SaaS architecture is compared to a high-rise building, handling scalability, user management, and security with a structure of user interface, server, and database. - Each SaaS service has unique features but shares a core structure. Additional sub-layers might be present depending on the service's complexity. - Multi-tenancy allows SaaS to efficiently serve multiple users from one app, providing cost and resource benefits. - Various platforms such as AWS, Azure, Salesforce, and Oracle offer distinct approaches to multi-tenant systems. - Understand SaaS architecture in real life through examples like Dropbox and Salesforce. Business apps like Slack and Trello exhibit SaaS applications in business. - There are SaaS architectural patterns and principles, like AWS multi-tenant SaaS, that can be used in designing SaaS architecture. - Resources, case studies, and literature to navigate architectural complexities are readily available online.

Read blog post

The Fundamentals of Software Architecture

- "Software architecture" refers to the structure or the blueprint of the software system, thus providing a complete understanding of system design, future changes, and code maintenance. - A comprehensive guide to the principles of software architecture is found in the book, "Fundamentals of Software Architecture: An Engineer's Collection of Tried-and-True Practices." - Software architectural design is a process involving gathering requirements, designing the architecture, and coding and integration. - Various software architecture resources exist on platforms such as GitHub, bookstore collections, and the internet that help in understanding the basics and honing architectural design skills. - Key principles guiding software architecture include designing for change, separating concerns, and maintaining simplicity. - Software architect Mark Richards made significant contributions to the field, particularly through his book, "Fundamentals of Software Architecture." - The role of a software architect involves designing the product's structure, working with the team, and guiding and overseeing the project. - Software architecture components include the code, user interface, database, design, algorithms, and user journey.

Read blog post

Contact us

Contact us today to learn more about how our automation partnership service might assist you in achieving your technology goals.

Thank you for leaving your details

Skip the line and schedule a meeting directly with our CEO
Free consultation call with our CEO
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.