Datasheet

FUTURE-PROOF WEB DESIGN
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and situations and build real-world solutions that are  exible and durable enough to
accommodate every environment, whether it’s a handheld device with a touch screen
attached or a desktop computer with a large display, mouse, and keyboard.
Mythology and folklore in design
In the following sections, I confront a few common myths in web design.  e information
in these sections will help you look beyond the old one-size- ts-all environment and
begin to understand the need for layouts that  ex to your users’ demands.  e critical
thing to take away is that no silver bullets or shortcuts can ensure a stable site that’ll last
into the future. Instead, future-proo ng your site includes balancing the needs of users
with the tools you can provide.
Myth #1: Layouts can be made to appear pixel-perfect
Web designers try to make the sites they design look and feel as consistent as possible in
various environments, but the idea of being pixel-perfect is  awed. By making something
pixel-perfect, I mean trying to enforce strict viewing guidelines akin to those in the print
industry, thereby making everything look the same in every situation. Because so many
variables play a role in a site’s rendering, situations will continue to exist where users
experience some kind of limitation. Perhaps they’re missing speakers for sound, or they
navigate using a dodgy browser. Not all experiences are created equal.
Note
For older devices, pixel-perfect layouts were impossible from the outset.
Desktops could handle feature-rich HTML and CSS layouts with plenty of
complex interactive features, but traditional featurephones could handle only
WML code devoid of the stylistic beauty and script-powered behavior that
desktops were a orded for years.
 e truth is, user experiences don’t have to be identical for your site to work. You may
actually want to design so that user experiences di er among platforms and make your
site more usable. You might o er separate, altered experiences based on the capabilities
of the di erent devices. (Note that a unique WML layout was compelling for older hand-
held devices.) As long as your content remains visible and users are willing, within reason,
to adapt their navigation techniques to interact with your site in a way that matches the
requirements of their devices, you don’t need to worry about precision design.
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