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The Ups and Downs of Web Development
If you do any type of development work on the web then you understand what frustration is. It can come from clients or it can come from a browser not rendering a box the way it should. Either way, frustration is simply part of the job description. Triumph is also part of the job description and although at times it may seem that there are more downs than ups, when there is an up, it erases all the feelings the downs caused previously...usually.
Here are the moments that cause me to experience some Ups.
Creating Flawless Markup
This doesn't happen often to me, but I love the feeling of creating an XHTML document and the markup flows as logically as any document should. There is one <h1> and the other headers follow where appropriate. <div>s are only used to separate a section of the page and there are no extraneous divs hanging around. <span>s are only used inline and when they are needed.
I know what I am describing is nirvana. Sometimes you have no choice but to wrap <div>s around other <div>s. Maybe everything isn't perfect and you don't always validate to perfection, but isn't it a good feeling when you go to run a site through the validation machine and you get the badge? Because I use outside services like Facebook Connect and Google Friend Connect, validation isn't completely in my hands. I can't even get the CSS to validate because I'm using Mozilla and Safari selectors. I really do miss that badge, but I think I can carry on without it for now. One day though I will get it back and I will surely celebrate with some cider and music.
I'm not going to say you should ignore validation or that you should be a stickler for it. I'm just saying it's good when stuff validates and even better when you put your best effort into making everything validate.
Degrading Gracefully
As we progress further into web development, the use of JavaScript starts to become more and more abundant. Unfortunately, there are still plenty of people that have JavaScript disabled and might be missing out on some of the functionality a site offers. For example on Drawar, if you don't have JS enabled you can't login to the site. I'm unaware of a workaround for this since I don't control the JS for the Facebook and Google elements, but this makes it apparent I also need to create my own registration system for those few strays without JS.
If you use JS on your site it's a great feeling to know that even without it being available to certain users they can still use your site, just without the same experience as others. Degrading gracefully is important and definitely something I am seeing developers being less concerned about simply because so many people keep JS enabled. If anything, try your best to offer a dumbed down version of your site. If you have to offer up the mobile version then so be it, but don't let a lack of degradation hold someone back from using your site.
Increasing Text Size Doesn't Break The Layout
Can you believe there are still sites out there that break completely when you increase the text size? I don't want to get into the liquid vs. fixed width debate, but this has always been one of the driving points behind creating liquid layouts. Sometimes we forget that not everyone wants to view our site at the font size that we have set and not everyone can read the text at the size we select.
Keeping this in mind can sometimes constrain your design, especially if you are trying to stick with fixed-height elements. However, with JS and advanced CSS there are more and more workarounds happening that help to increase the flexibility of your designs.
I don't think anyone is expecting your site to remain flawless when users increase the text size because eventually any site will reach its limit on how well it can handle 296px fonts. However, if you test your site and find that increasing the font size by one notch completely throws a wrench into everything, then maybe you should consider making some adjustments.
Site Works In IE Without Even Trying
Just so I don't single out IE completely, isn't it great when you finish up a design and then go to test it out in different browsers and it works flawlessly in each and every one? I used to love that feeling and I know Mike Rundle did as well. He could tell you some war stories about his struggles with IE and the design of 9rules.
With the recent security issues of IE surfacing (again) we can only hope that there will be a time where 99% of the world is using a non-IE browser. I know it's a far-fetched dream, but if we can't have our dreams, what are we left with?
People like to think that the fist pump became famous because of the new show Jersey Shore, when in reality, web geeks have been fist pumping ever since the first one created a flawless IE design in one shot.
Selectors Actually Make Sense
There are times when I get so lost in my CSS that I forget what selectors I have used for other elements and so to prevent me from having to go and look for them (I know, lazy) I start to create crazy names. .largeCenterBlob for example. I couldn't tell you what it does and most of the time I end up going back to look at what it actually does. Imagine if I stuck with selectors that actually made sense? I have a couple of them .floatRight and .sideboxItemRight, but the rest could fit just as well in a Twilight novel.
I wish I could say I had an intricate system that I have honed and developed over the years, but I don't. I still wing it so if you have any suggestions I'm all ears. I have been looking around and haven't come across anything yet. Maybe common sense should be the system I use.
A Printed Page Looks Just As Good As The Screen Version
When was the last time you paid attention to how a page on your site looks when it is printed on paper? I know I haven't in a while and I even have a print stylesheet hidden in a folder that I don't use. I can only imagine the joy though of seeing someone print an article from here and having it look spectacular in print. It's not like it is even hard to create a print style for sites and yet so many of us neglect it probably because we don't print stuff too often. However, I know a ton of people that do like to print content that they find on the web so it would be a good idea for all of us to pay a little bit of attention to how our content formats on paper.
Creating An Awesome Form
I hate forms. I hate writing the XHTML for them. I hate styling them. I hate having to check user inputs. I hate everything about them. That is why it is such a great feeling when you create a truly awesome one. You would think we are crazy when we walk away from a design and think to ourselves "damn, I love that form." Seriously, how often do you come across a form and fall in love with the design of it?
Props to you if you are someone that has created a form that provides instant feedback. You are nothing short of god status in my book. I love those types of forms. If there were a position for a professional form creator, this would be the first qualification I look for in a candidate.
Tumblr has a form on their homepage that makes me want to fill it out even though I have no intention of ever using the service. How great did the designer feel when she popped that one out? She probably went to the bar and bought everyone a round. I know I would.
From a user's perspective, how frustrating is it when:
- Forms ask for too much information?
- Forms don't make it clear what information is required until after you have press submit?
- Forms erase all of your input just because you filled in one part incorrectly?
These are all things you have to keep in mind when creating forms on your site. Some site development is 90% forms and 10% everything else. Thankfully, there are wonderful services like Wufoo that ease the burden for many of us.
Don't Hate A Design A Month Later
I don't know how often this actually happens, but it rarely happens to me. I think John Gruber might be one of the greatest examples of this with his Daringfireball design. That site hasn't changed since 1972 and you would like to think it is because Gruber likes it just the way it is. How many of you can say that you have created a site that you stared at every single day and after a month were completely content with it?
I'm probably not that way because I go through a lot of design iterations before I land on the one that I feel is right. I'm more of a throw it against the wall and see if it sticks kind of guy, while I know others like to perfect a design in Photoshop before moving on. Those types are probably more content with how a design looks after a month more than I am, but I wouldn't change my habits for the world.
I'm stuck in my ways like that and I suck at Photoshop. And design. And drawing. Great, now I need to write an article on the Ups and Downs of making yourself depressed through your own writing.
The Client Likes The First Design They Are Shown
Yeah right, good one.
I've never experienced this one, but I've heard rumors of designers being able to pull this off. These designers were direct descendants of Zeus himself apparently.
????????????
Now it's your turn to share your ups and downs.
I know to an outsider these moments seem trivial, but it's hard to explain the rush one gets when everything goes right. You can be coding for hours and banging your head against the wall, when you finally see that one semi-colon missing and there you have yourself another triumph.
It's just part of the job description I guess and I probably wouldn't change a thing about it. Well, except for that whole IE thing maybe.
This article was a bit different than what you usually see right? That is what Drawar is all about. It's not about being different, it's about helping all of us dig deeper into what web design really represents. It thrives off its members contributions so if you like what you see consider becoming a Plus Member or Drawar Friend.
15 Comments
Too true. I also go for validation on my sites, but the markup itself can't always be super clean, especially when a designer hands me something with a corner within a corner within a corner kind of background...that being said I've gotten better at making sites look perfect with IE6-7 the first time, and man that feels good every time I see it!
AnonymousMost of my customers like my first designs. I usually have a design formed in my head by the time I'm done meeting with the customer the first time.
I try to make my selectors have absolutely nothing to do with how the thing is actually styled. When I make my markup, I'm not thinking about the design quite yet.
I'll use classes or IDs like #main, #secondary, and #tertiary rather than .center, .right-side, .left-side. That way, no matter how I style it, the markup will always make perfect sense and rarely need updated.
I also enjoy some funny class names that amuse me after I forget them. I've used #container as a surround div. Recently, I've been a fan of #wrapper, or even #rapper. My next project I'm going to make it #50-cent because he is, well, a rapper.
Anonymous@Kevin - That's unique. I normally just stick to header, wrapper, footer, etc.
Anyway, great article. The big one for me that you mentioned is not hating the design a month later.
I usually love my designs the first week and after that, I notice something that I don't like, and another week after that, I end up completely hating the design.
What's even better is that you are happy with the design a month later and your client is happy with the design as well, but that is almost never true.
AnonymousI would say one of the top feelings is seeing everything look in in IE without having to do fixes. I always assume I'm going to have to fix something in IE.
I never wanted to support IE6 on one of my sites, when I finished it I tested in IE6 too and realized that there was only a tiny little problem (li:hover is not supported)
The rest of the layout worked flawlessly in IE6 too :)
It is a real high when you create flawless (or at least next to flawless) markup, so I cherish the times when I receive a design that hasn't been made without consideration to how the site will be built and limitations in browser's capabilities. Web design is not just design on the web.
AnonymousFor most of these events, my feeling is much more surprise than anything else. I am amazed at my own ability to get through it and not screw up; it's more disconcerting than anything else!
I actually pulled off the last one. Twice :P
The feeling is great!
I usually work on the design until I am satisfied. If I don't like it, I just keep it aside and start all over. By the 3rd or 4th try, I usually have something that I like. Then I work on it until I can show it to the client.
I never show more than one concept. There is only one size that fits, I am simply after that size.
Getting all the URLS to be CoolURIs
Building a site whose content is coming from a database, using natural keys instead of id numbers, using meaningful slugs in the urls, all of that coming together so that the site is even navigable by guessing urls.
The client probably won't even notice nor care, but the SEO goodness will pay off.
Now that, that is a good and rare feeling! (just gotta get it to validate now)
Liking the new home page design, Scrivs: straight to the point and I can see your latest stuff immediately.
You thought of changing your favicon?
The favicon is actually a leftover from the original Drawar when it was part of 9rules. Something I have on my todo list so that it matches up with the rest of the branding. Not done with the homepage yet, but glad you appreciate what I am trying to do with it.
Anonymousnice post. IE6 is the biggest down! Using CSS3 is currently my biggest up! :)
AnonymousI love how spot you hit it about a design in IE coming out perfect the first time.
I always cringe every time I'm working on coding and the design, I try my best to make everything work semantically but I know once it's done there's going to be something that needs to be tweaked in IE.
Then it hits, it comes out perfectly in IE and you let out the biggest sigh of relief and feel really great that it all worked out.
(First comment and I must say, I'm loving the blog!)
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Agreed with Hawke, especially the working-flawlessly-on-IE one. Happened once to me and it was actually quite frightening: If there should be bugs then let them be visible ones. Watching everything looks normal on IE makes me worry if something big is broken and goes unnoticed.