websitewriters.co.za

Standards include things like usability

Posted by Raoul Snyman on December 20, 2006 on 12:11 pm | In (X)HTML, Accessibility, CSS, Design |

Indeed.

Standards are not just about good markup and good content. It’s also about making a site usable to everyone who visits your site. In this day and age of multiple devices, we’re starting to use cellphones and PDAs to surf the net. Just a few weeks ago I was browsing some forums from my phone, while sitting on the train, for a solution to a problem I was having at work.

Thanks to Opera Mini, I can browse most normal sites using my cellphone. However, that doesn’t mean that all websites display nicely, or work even. As far as I know, there’s no JavaScript support, and there’s certainly no support for things like Flash. Opera Mini runs through an intermediate server however, that optimises content for the mobile device. My built in browser on my phone is pathetic compared to Opera Mini, and how many people use the built in browser? Most do, I reckon.

Just as a good example, take a look at this blog post from Jonathan Endersby. He makes a good point.

By simply sticking to XHTML and CSS standards, and making sure that your site works without plugins and JavaScript, you make it not only future-proof, since most devices will start with those standards, but also available to a wider audience. Think of blind people, other visually impaired folks, and people on cellphones and PDAs, to name a few.