One Web Site that I visit daily is About.com:Web Design/HTML. What I have learnt here, has influenced how I approach my work.
Jennifer Kyrnin who runs the site, provides information in a simple, easy way to read. The one thing that she does not budge is that when designing or developing a web site, that Web Site Design Standards must be followed.
It took me a while to stop using tables in laying out a Web Page, but once I embraced CSS (Cascading Style Sheets), I was hooked. I have have better control over how I lay out a Web Page.
When I decided to stop freelancing after hours and go into business for my self, I looked at Web Site Designers in Cape Town to see what my opposion is. I was horrified to discover that most of the designers whose potfolios I looked at, still use tables.
The Sites I looked at looked really good. So, why I am pointing out their use of tables? Simple, the Internet is evolving fast and new Browsers as well as upgardes to existing browsers are being released all the time. And with every new release or upgrade, they become more standards compliant, and sites that have not been designed with Web Site Standards in mind will not perform as wells as those that follow the Standards.
Why do theses designers not bother to follow current design standards? They are aiming for a quicker turnaround. Except if they took the time to work with Styles Sheets, they would soon be turning out their work just as fast.
Do it right the first time, and you will not have a mess to sort out later!
