Right, so this blog hasn't been fed too well so far, but as I've said before, it isn't on a high-fibre diet yet (i.e. it isn't a regular thing).
So far, the blog's quite empty. It hasn't helped that I've been away for the last week! (For those who have asked, I had a nice birthday week, thanks! I've been visiting folks back home and growing a bit of a beard so I don't feel so out of place on Accessify Forum). I've not written a whole lot about the Web Design business, which I'd like to start doing, so here's one for ya!
Letting Everyone Down
I'm finding it increasingly saddening to find websites that suck – especially when the website belongs to a Web Design company. I get annoyed at the number of Web Design companies I stumble across whose websites are utterly atrocious.
Now, before I get too far down this road, I must admit my own design failures. For example, the November 5th website has had its moments – sometimes embarrassing ones – which have mostly been down to its age and the fact that I've learnt a lot over the last year since its launch. I'm also aware that there are still issues with the site, something I hope to iron out with the redesign I'm working on.
Anyway, last week I found a website that purported to be dedicated to getting the best online marketing that money can buy. They are an off-shoot of an established Web Design company and so have little excuse for the poor quality of their own website. Guess what? It works fine in Internet Explorer on Windows, but does it work properly in any other browser? Does it bollocks!
They pretend to have a clue about SEO. They don't appear to have discovered the advantages of designing with Web standards. Their navigation bar just doesn't work in anything but IE. No idea about accessibility. A lovely marquee is thrown in there for good measure.
Sound familiar? Right. Sorry, rant over.
Companies like these are letting their customers down. Companies like these are letting the Web Design and Development industry down. People who hire companies like these are letting themselves down. Last, but not least, these websites let their users down.
So, what do I propose? Education.
An Exercise in Education
I get the feeling that some people really don't know that the Web is evolving at a phenomenal rate. I like to think that I'm keeping up with the flow, and I am always learning thanks to the many resources on the Web (I'd particularly like to thank all the folks over at Accessify Forum). In my quest to improve my own expertise, I have found many sources of information, so many that I can't always keep up with the information hit.
The resources are out there for designers and developers, and they are looked for. However, I've found that there are few resources that are aimed at other audiences. What about website owners? What about the average user? There are studies into what the users expect from websites, but do they know what they should be expecting from a website?
What's my reason for jabbering on about this? Well, I'm trying to get to the bottom of why people hire bad design companies, or more specifically, companies who don't know what they are doing. I can only think that it comes down to a general lack of knowledge. Well, the resources are out there for the design companies to learn from, and a lot of us try our hardest to show our clients the advantages of what I've come to call “best practices” (of course, there isn't always a best way of doing things), but where do our clients go to for advice on what to expect from us as designers? In the UK, I have found basic advice on sites such as Business Link, but nothing much more.
A recent article by Mike Davidson about browser evolution got me thinking more on educating people about the Web, so I thought it was about time I posted something here about my ideas.
So, for some time I have been playing with the idea of starting a new resource aimed at people who don't necessarily have (or need) technical knowledge of the Web – the businesses and organisations who own websites and are our potential clients. However, I am wary as to whether such a resource will be useful to people, and whether it is looked for. Would there be any value in a website that educates its visitors about what to expect from the websites they commission?
I know that people don't just hire whoever they stumble across first, or whoever bamboozles them first with technical jargon. Even people who don't have a clue about the technicalities of the Web aren't stupid. People look for benefits, but how do they know that they are getting those benefits? And how do they know whether they need those benefits and not others? I think these people could do with a helping hand.
So, it's time to educate about “best practice” – the importance of accessibility, marketing performance, usability. But it's not just other designers who need to catch the bug – others need to know about what to expect from Web Designers.
And it's open to the floor…
6 Responses to “Educating the People”
Education is indeed what the web needs. Unfortunately, many of those who need to learn more are ignorant about their ignorance. They simply don’t know that there are issues they need to be educated about.
So the main question is how do we make people aware of the need? Very few people I meet, even those who work with web design, understand the first thing about accessibility. “Oh yeah, but we don’t have any blind users!” is a common reply.
The issues are well vented in the geek community, but it doesn’t help that some Big Names are discarding certain matters as being unimportant. Like validation. Like encoding ampersands. Some of them are even spreading outright lies (e.g. that there are benefits to using XHTML although it is served as text/html).
Even worse, we are apparently no longer
allowed to even discuss these issuesat least not without being accused of web standards elitismSo how do we reach those who need education? How do we spread the word?
Like Jon Hicks recently said, I’m always surprised when I discover just how unaware some people are, not just of the Web, but of technology in general.
I agree with what you say about ignorance – ignorance is bliss, as they say. But perhaps it is something more than plain ignorance. Some people are less susceptible to change, and the Web changes at quite a rate. I’m not making a sweeping generalisation here, but I think these types of people tend to be less technically minded as well.
We all know, the Web is not as real to people as the physical world. Using a computer is still very alien to some people. This, I think, is one of the reasons that people are unaware of Web accessibility. Most people will see accessibility on a daily basis in the physical world. In a way, everyone experiences accessibility on a daily basis – every time a person drives their car, rides their bike or uses their wheelchair. Roads, pavements and buildings are reasonably barrier-free, or getting there. People can understand these kinds of physical considerations easily.
I think some people have difficulty considering accessibility in computers because it’s fairly intangible and those people almost expect accessibility to just exist because they don’t have any problems. Slowly, people will become more aware of such issues – when more people start using other browsing devices, when law suits start getting realised, even when Firefox starts making headlines (maybe not on an accessibility front there though). Until then, how else can we raise awareness?
Businesses are a good target. They’re everywhere and they tend to use technology in some way, maybe even use the Web. Businesses network. We network. Through a campaign such as that begun by GAWDS, at least the ball is rolling on educating both Web Designers and various organisations.
Back to the question in hand then: how do we reach people? Through active campaign and by talking, I guess. Firefox is doing fairly well, albeit mostly in the geek community I feel, but it’s spreading. I find myself thinking about the central resource for things like “how to use accesskeys” and such which was discussed a few months ago on Accessify Forum. If enough people were to become involved, would there be value in setting up something along the lines of what I suggested in the article?
Something I’d like to see is a redefinition of Web Design. As we know, it isn’t print and it isn’t just about making things look pretty. So many agencies and freelancers who call themselves Web Designers are in fact more correctly called Typographers or Graphic Designers. Obviously, there are elements of all of these in Web Design and there are people like me who have an interest (although not necessary skilled) in all these aspects. I think people have to realise that it’s no longer as simple as saying “Oh, we’ll get a Web Designer to do that”.
That’s a good comparison between the web and the physical world. I may “borrow” parts of that in the future … 🙂
Active campaign and talking. Sure, but I fear that this will still only reach the geek community. Those blissfully ignorant (not meant to be patronising) won’t even know that there’s something they need to listen to. They don’t frequent geeky forums or read alpha geek blogs.
Then we have the great majority of ‘Net users, who don’t design web sites and who don’t write computer software. Many of those will give you a blank stare if you utter the words “web browser.” They don’t know that they have such a beast on their computers. “Oh, you mean the Internet? That blue ‘e’ I click on? Are there more than one Internet then?”
Web standards are more or less at a standstill as long as Internet Explorer doesn’t evolve. Accessibility can move forward for some time still, but much of that is also tied into the (lack of) capabilities in IE.
I think we need to get the attention of those corporations that create the authoring software most people use. If Dreamweaver and Frontpage were to create accessible, standards-compliant markup and style sheets, we’d take some major steps forward. If the default templates for Movable Type, WordPress et al were valid and accessible (I’m just assuming they’re not), we’d move along even further.
I guess it’s time for a coordinated campaign target on those guys. Something like the Browser Upgrade Campaign of a few years ago, where the design/development community worked together with the manufacturers to create better products. I don’t believe in hate campaigns, or “boycot product XXX.” We need to provide good, constructive criticism, a business incentive, and possibly even practical suggestions on how they could solve the existing problems.
Probably a pipe dream, though.
Hmm, I get what you’re saying, Tommy. I think I’m stuck in “Web Developer” mode. Even when I’m writing a report for a client I find myself getting too technical and often have to treat it as an executive summary to be able to get my point across.
Hmmm, I’ll have a sleep on it and post some thoughts tomorrow.
Did I hear talk of the “beard-growers” club; the outcast movement and somebody’s birthday going on, I’ve missed all the fun…
Well, the current well-known campaign-sites tend to be rather lame because they are usually funded, or have affiliation with such corporations personally I like to believe am left untainted by buying into such fakeness.
Actually it’s a reasonable idea to create a resource like a “Website Buyers Guide” highlighting what a Ludite should expect from a web-design company and what the many pitfalls there are, with not doing your research.
Yes, you heard correctly, Robert, but alas, my beard has been removed on orders from the better half. =) You didn’t miss much on the birthday front; this year was a quiet one spent with my family and girlfriend.
I think there’s certainly an opening for a resource like this, and I’d be keen to keep it independent for the reasons you suggest. However, I can also see the value in association. How could you promote such a resource without such channeling?
I don’t think funding is too much of an issue. With enough authors willing to contribute and perhaps some adverts (eugh, I know) then it might be able to sustain itself.