the toe of webdev

Alright, I will try not to be so harsh through this post but the fact is you can either do things the right way or you have to face the fact you are doing them wrong.

And if you are doing things the wrong way on purpose, well, then you are an idiot.

This came to me while reading another of Veerle’s expert posts and having just visited Digital FAQ.

I will start with the “offending” site. I say that loosely because at least it is not a site about how to properly use markup, or something similar. Digital FAQ is an excellent resource and should not be considered anything but that. So take my critique of one small flaw as that — a critique of one small flaw.

When you visit the site you immediately see “Site optimized for Internet Explorer and 1024×768 resolution.”

There is so much wrong with that mentality it is hard to know where to start. However, the first thing that comes to mind is that there are several more browsers than Internet Explorer. Not only are there several other browsers but a few of them are considered mainstream!

No smart web designer, developer, or architect would design a system that accommodated only the most popular perceived browser. I say perceived because it is simply not the most popular browser anymore.

Before you go throwing browser statistics and usage pattern numbers at me, let me clarify.

There are browsers out there that mystify, confuse, or just plain cause people headaches. My mother is one of them. Just looking at Firefox or Opera begins to confuse her and fill her with questions.

As power users we may look and see instant similarities — but the average user does not. One of the number one complaints I hear from Internet Explorer users is that they simply do not like it for whatever reasons, but they do not have the time to invest in learning something else.

This does not sound like a popular alternative but one that is forced upon people by convenience.

Now if you would like to dig out the numbers make sure to think about what I have said. So when you see that there are several alternative browsers that are steadily gaining in “popularity,” know that is only the story you hear, only the numbers that get sampled, and only those users who are willing to put forth the effort to learning and utilize something better.

Having said ALL this, do I really need to discuss different resolutions? Different sized displays? I will refrain, but the numbers in all these situations are evident. No statistics and fact sheets are needed.

Stay away from designing for one browser or resolution. It is quite simply put the wrong thing to do. Therefore knowing that and continuing to do it makes you or anyone else an idiot.

Wait a minute, I was supposed to not be so harsh. Well, let me explain that bit too. You have created a website or page for 2 reasons:

1. You want someone to share in the information you have.  Take part in its discovery.  Et cetera.
2. You must make a living off of what you create.

So you see whether or not you are doing something for a personal site or for something professional you really need to be open to allowing the web to be traversed freely if not expertly.  By that I mean achieving the widest possible audience.

Don’t get me wrong now.  If you are throwing some stuff together for you and a few members of your family to view, then so be it.  But anything beyond that is a futile and inefficient endeavor.

This brings me to my final point.  Start off on the right foot!  If you have already begun learning ineffective and haphazard methodologies, well, stop!  It is fairly straightforward — STOP!

So I invite you to Google these terms and definitely check out Veerle’s post on this matter, because she very swiftly and with precision lays out several key terms, books, and ideas for you.

Terms to Google:

1. Web Standards
2. Semantic markup
3. CSS shorthand

And know that the W3C is quite literally the authoratative source on all things semantic web and web standards.  However, if you are like me, you will have a difficult time absorbing the material there (highly technical at times).

Therefore, feel free to peruse other sources.  Just make sure the focus is on one thing and that is the three main terms presented above.