This is an outline our principles - what we consider to be good practice that we adhere to when designing and building web sites. This document covers design, accessibility, content and linking startegies, but we also apply good practice to things behind the scenes such as code management, and of course in our dealings with our clients.
Design
Be consistent in design and navigation: users should always know where they are on your websites.
Designs should work across browsers: there are some differences in the way Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, etc. render web pages but with the use of stylesheets, designs should work for all the main browsers.
Degrade gracefully: if some wizzy new feature is decided upon for users with the most modern browsers, an alternative should be provided for people with older browsers that can't deal with the technology.
"Anyone who slaps a 'this page is best viewed with Browser X' label on a Web page appears to be yearning for the bad old days, before the Web, when you had very little chance of reading a document written on another computer, another word processor, or another network."Tim Berners-Lee 1996
Content
The principles of writing good content apply across all media. Be clear and concise. Keep in mind George Orwell's six elementary rules ("Politics and the English Language", 1946):
- Never use a metaphor, simile or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.
- Never use a long word where a short one will do.
- If it is possible to cut out a word, always cut it out.
- Never use the passive where you can use the active.
- Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.
- Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.
For excellent advice on writing we consult the Economist Style Guide.
Links
Make sure all your content can be linked to, forever, by humans as
well as machines. Use URLs that won't change like
/news/2007-02/my-article
Maximise routes to important content:
- use a standard menu system
- have a site map
- syndicate your content with RSS
- encourage others to link to your content
- ensure your content is indexed in search engines
Accessibility
Consider all users: accessibility is not an optional extra. Sites
that are designed from the ground up to be accessible work better for
all users. In particular be aware that
- users may not have problems reading small type on a screen
- they may need text to be read out to them
- they may find it difficult or impossible to use a mouse
- some colour contrasts can be problematic for some users
- you may need to provide alternative languages for some users
- some users may not be able to hear audio messages
- they may need to use older technology that is slower and can't run the most up to date software
- they may not have access to fast connections
Code
Aim to make code clean, clear and standard: ensuring that code
validates to current web standards will allow the greatest number of
people to access the site via whatever browser.
Client Communications
Last but very definitely not least, we try to impose our code on all our communications with you. In particular we attempt to:
- listen carefully to you
- understand what you are trying to achieve
- demystify technology by using simple language to explain what is complex
- do more than what we say we'll do
