Datasheet
CHAPTER ONE FUTUREPROOF SURVIVAL TECHNIQUES
13
Myth #2: Designs can be considered “complete”
I’m a big believer in continued improvement, and because standards and use of sites will
always be changing, based in large part on users’ activities and preferences, sticking with
one layout and declaring to the world “I’m nished” is . . . well, surely said in jest. Your
goal as a designer is to make sure your site continues to gauge the interests of users, and
although you don’t want to redesign a site every week, it makes sense to iterate and
improve your services regularly (as shown in Figure 1-1). As technologies and best prac-
tices change, new methods to help your visitors will appear.
Figure 1-1: Iteration allows designers to continually improve their work.
e idea behind a completed site is that nothing can be done to make it better, which
doesn’t add up. Improvements can always be made and new features can always be added.
Also, be sure to maintain and update the content on your site to encourage visitors to
return. If you own the site that you’re building, you can set it up so that iteration can
occur naturally. When you’re building for clients, suggest that they establish maintenance
schedules and frequently improve the content of their site.
Myth #3: A design can be totally bulletproof or future-proof
Although this book’s goal is to help you maintain stability in a layout and make your site
as future-proof as possible, ultimately no design is immune from all that the Web can
throw at it. When a site is said to be bulletproof, it means that the site won’t fall apart
under any circumstance. at a site can be bulletproof is an idealistic and unattainable
notion. When a site is said to be future-proof, the implication is that the site will work
04_9781119978770-ch01.indd 1304_9781119978770-ch01.indd 13 10/25/11 1:08 PM10/25/11 1:08 PM