Adaptive Path just published an essay written by Jeff Veen, entitled The Business Value of Web Standards. It’s a short, concise overview focusing on the tangible benefits of designing and coding a site using web standards like XHTML and CSS. Jeff speaks from lots of experience working with (and pioneering in) web standards, from his earlier days at HotWired, to the current consulting he does on client projects with his partners.
Go read the article now. Then bookmark it for later when you’re gathering resources for a project manager or other decision maker who questions the value of heading down the standards path. My favorite quote from the essay:
Ever see an IT guy get excited about a new design? You will.
perhaps isn’t the most important point Jeff makes. But nevertheless, the statement is both humorous and entirely true at the same time. I’ve never seen IT managers and engineers so willing to work with a designer/developer on a redesign when they’re shown the stripped down markup and resulting reductions in file size and bandwidth.
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Just because I know you never get this, that Adaptive Path site is damn sexy. I’ve used it as inspiration, oh, more than once.
Ever see an IT guy get excited about a new design? You will.
I have. I am a System Administrator by trade, but I have a special liking for good design. I get twitches when I see ugly design. But I gasp or cry when I see a design with massive non-standard junky code.
They are called standards for a reason. Use them.
I was inspired to get back into design by articles like this (and a few small, but extraordinary, blogs).
Here is a repeat… the Adaptive Path site was a great inspiration.
Mister Dave =)
Congratulations on the new mac =)
I am really sorry for not having sent my CssZen Proposal, I am still working hard on getting this xthml-css new way of webdesign. Someday my submission will arrive at CssZenGarden office ;)
Mister Doug, nice of you to tell us of the new article! =)
Your Adaptive Path redesign is almost all printed. I have been studying the code =)
On the Posted Essay of Veen: I thing I will use mostly three arguments of it when with a customer:
1. Site will work on mobile phones, etc.
2. Reduced Bandwidth Costs.
3. Simplified Maintenance.
I think that if those fail, I better pack…
Speed Development, is a dangerous argument because customers are always pushing us around on this matter. I find it difficult to give them the “power” of time. They will always find a way to think things can be done in two seconds.
I have to stress that we have to be careful on the time argument…
Wating for ALA
I am here waiting for Ala redesign… iupi iupi iupi ehehehehe.
I can’t sleep well (in Lisbon it is now 00h21 pm), just full of expectation =)
I think alexBuda might need to switch to decaf… :}
(just kidding)
Brilliant essay over @ Adaptive Path. Thanks for the heads-up, Doug. I’ll get a lot of mileage out of that.
Looking at all the old nasty frame and table code of the website at work = YUK!!! blah!!! gag!!!!
Thinking of redoing the whole site with web standards and nice clean XMTL and CSS = Ahhhhhh. Smile… :)
Excellent essay! For weeks I’ve been telling my colleagues the value of standards-based design to largely deaf ears. Eventually, a programmer friend of mine actually looked the source code for my personal site and was really quite impressed. Hopefully a similar reaction from will occur when I redesign my department’s homepage—that, coupled with this essay, has the potential to inspire an entire University.
One benefit of an XHTML/CSS layout he doesn’t mention is that it increases the ratio of content to code in your markup, which helps improve your site’s results in search engines, as discussed in a recent article at A List Apart.
Yeah, designing with tables just gives me a bad feeling nowadays. Glad to say I have no more bad feelings! Great article. Now we just need someone to come up with a research type paper showing the tangible benefits, along with some numbers, that will convince CIO and CFO types.
I can’t use tables anymore; it feels dirty. Unfortunately designing with XHTML and CSS takes at least two or three times longer than doing the same design with tables, not to mention the added cross-browser compatability problems. I’ve found that it’s really hard getting my designers onboard with CSS.
It takes time to learn
What I am about to say is not new news, not do I intent to claim I am the owner of this idea.
“It tooke some time to learn how to walk
It tooke some time to learn how to design with tables
It will take some time to learn how to design with no tables”
I have been here crashing my head against walls (now, please don´t do this at home) in order to understand this “new way”(?) of making web sites, but I remember that back in 1996 it took me the same kind of efford to learn how to do old fashion web design =)
Stop Work Arounds Campaign
My only big concern is that we has creators must not forgot that work arounds can get back to us.
Struckture, validation, semantics, how to present a project to custmers (as Mister Veen explains) and all that are important, but I would love to see more conversation around how to stop work arounds…
Maybe we should make sites more simple, and keep pushing browser companies and all the community conected to the web to the way of “web standards”.
I can’t use tables anymore; it feels dirty.
That phrase sums it all up to me.
Now, something I know from experience is that, unlike with previous designers, our two programming ladies actually love working with me. They say my code is damn sexy. (Okay, I just exaggerated a little bit in here) :)
Blah blah blah. There’s no substance in this article. Just more empty promises and “claims” that can’t be backed up.
TOTALLY TOTALLY AGREE! :-) I actually think the point you’ve stressed is the most important one of the article (which, yeah, Randy, does seem a bit light).
I’m working in a very odd marketplace with standards compliancy, XHTML, and CSS.. that is, e-commerce, affiliate marketing, and the adult biz. These are the three LAST industries you’d imagine going over.. and I’m there trying to help on the edge.
Most people in those industries are totally business minded. They don’t care if code is bad as long as everyone can see it, and as long as the results make them money. That’s why you have such badly coded sites like Amazon.
But what wins them over to the standards? SEO! XHTML and CSS are probably the best things to happen for Search Engine Optimization.. ever. The page can use as few bytes as possible, keyword density can be high, and documents are clear as a bell, with no quirky markup to drive the engines away.
So, it’s not just saving bandwidth, and clean markup, that’ll get the disinterested, interested.. it’s the SEO and marketing benefits too!
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