Nate Klaiber

Web Developers and Designers: Know Your Trade

I am back from vacation and feel very refreshed and relaxed. This was my first vacation where I was completely disconnected from the outside world. It was a great time spent fishing, swimming, hiking, and relaxing.

While I was away one of my previous articles made it to the depths of Digg.com. First off, I want to say thank you to those who took the time to read the article, and, in spite of the rough tone still understood the message. Thank you for taking the time to leave the comments and questions. The post was meant to be more of a challenge — but my tone admittedly made it the rant that it was. Here are a few disclaimers from the previous article:

1. I don’t think I have all the answers, or all of the best solutions. I do think there is a right approach to solve problems and that there are best solutions out there. These solutions are almost always target audience specific.

2. I am not a freelance developer/designer. I do some consulting on the side, but my main job consists of being a web developer/programmer for a book publishing company. I don’t have the time to dedicate to freelance work or clients at this point in my life. My previous article had nothing to do with possibly losing jobs to another bidder. In this area, specifically, there is a lack of web designers and developers who really know their trade. I have listed several examples in the list at the bottom.

3. I love Dreamweaver. I used it for 5 years previously before switching to TextMate. It is a great tool — when used properly. In this instance, you can replace Dreamweaver with any other WYSIWYG and the point would still stand. A WYSIWYG will never be a replacement for knowing what you are doing (HTML/CSS). Will the client ever know the difference? Maybe not — but it sure makes a task for the next person to do any work. I have seen sites where the user doesn’t know how to use the WYSIWYG and the code has invalid markup (Adobe, Microsoft seem to have the most of this), several doctypes scattered throughout the page, duplicate tags, empty tags, linking to files on their personal hard drive instead of the server, and an array of other (somewhat humorous) problems. Now — this may not be a problem initially, but what happens when your servers error logs get filled with multiple failed attempts to find that file on your hard drive, or to find that script that doesn’t exist? What happens when your access log and bandwith exceed their limits because you use a million tables, spacer images, and images for all of your text. What happens when different devices or browsers render the display differently due to the mishap in the tag soup? You see — the WYSIWYG can hide things like this so it is never addressed as an issue — until it’s too late. If I were paying someone to build my house, I would expect them to have the knowledge and know how to build my house properly. I don’t want a house that is going to cave in on my three months down the road — and then have the contractor tell me they don’t know how to fix it. Extra fees will be incurred (just as most companies see when they have to have a complete re-build because of a negligent designer or developer).

4. I love Flash. However, it is a tool — and as such should only be used when it would benefit the client. At this point, I have not found an area where it would be completely beneficial over another technology. I am not anti-flash. A doctor could perform surgery on a brain with an ax, but it’s not quite the right tool. Flash is a tool, and inside of the medium (the browser), it breaks too many things when built improperly. No, I don’t want to listen to the music you think I should be listening to. Yes, I am going to skip your intro. No — I don’t want you to re-size my browser window or popup to a new window. What if I want to print? What if I want to copy and paste text? What if I wanted to use my browser to go back, forward, or even bookmark. What about other devices — handhelds, screen readers, and other assistive devices? These are just a tiny bit (and some are preferences), but I haven’t found a place where Flash is the beneficial solution to a problem.

5. I do not believe there is a big gap between a web developer and a web designer. They both have to work together, and one has to understand and pick up where the other left off.

   A true web designer knows the medium: the browser. They know that a website is not just another print advertisement or brochure. They understand the complexities of creating a usable, accessible, and dynamic website. They understand colors, color psychology, fonts, readability, and information structure. They know the patterns of users using a screen to get their information. They know how to optimize their images for the web, and where and how to use those images. They see the big picture of a site that is scalable and can fit the dynamic content without skewing the rest of the website. They understand iconic representation and how to keep consistency and flow in their design. They can envision the different pieces being used outside of their initial sketch. They know CSS and understand how to build a website with semantics and structure in mind. They understand the SEO aspect to design, and the barriers present with different technologies.

   A true web developer understands his medium: the server. They understand the setup, configurations, and security of the server. They understand HTTP and the codes associated with it. They understand the many different ways a user could come to the website, and prepare to have all their bases covered. They know about SEO and how to structure this accordingly. They understand the array of server logs that they can monitor. They understand how to make sense of the traffic and statistics. They understand band-with limits and storage. They understand FTP and its workings. They understand how they will receive the pieces of the puzzle from the designer — and how to put them together in a sensible manner.

6. I absolutely love PHP. It is my weapon of choice. I have used it on many projects in the past and continue to use it today. I even took the time to take the Zend Certification exam. This is not to toot my own horn, but to say that if I hated PHP — I wouldn’t have taken the time to study and prepare for an exam. PHP is a very popular language ’ almost too popular. Everywhere you look you can find free scripts all over the internet. This isn’t bad, but it also isn’t good for those who don’t understand what they are doing with the script. What if they picked up a script from PHP5 and they only have PHP4 on their servers? They spend countless hours wondering why certain things don’t work. What if they use an older script with vulnerabilities to common day attacks such as XSS, CSRF, Session Fixation and Hijacking, and SQL injection? I could spend a few posts just on talking about the PHP configuration options — and some of these are very important to know (especially if used on a shared host). The problem comes when a web developer installs these without understanding the environment and the language. It gets even more complicated when they throw several different scripts in the mix. It becomes a hodge podge of code scattered throughout a website. Now, if you want to do that on your personal site — by all means, but if you are getting paid by a client for the work, then you need to do the work and understand how to troubleshoot and maintain the script.

7. I love open source projects. Yes, my blog is a Wordpress blog — default installation. However, I have made several changes to the PHP inside to help against comment spam and other attacks. The problem with open source comes when you don’t know what you are doing. This is my personal blog — and it has taken back-seat to other projects at work. Yes — there is a re-design in the works, as well as moving from Wordpress to something custom. However — the current use of the Wordpress is not a security risk for a client — it’s my own blog. The problem comes when a designer or developer uses something that is open source without knowing how it works — just to complete a task from the client. They are paying you to just find a free script or a CMS on the internet to get them what they need. Technically, you have no more knowledge than the client except that you knew where to look to find the free scripts. This is unfair to the client who is paying for custom work.

8. I started in web development 8 years ago. My first website was for a local Chiropractor. Ok, he was a friend of the family that wanted a web presence. I had taken only 2 web classes in high school (design and HTML). I took these classes to fill up my schedule — I didn’t think I would actually use them. In exchange for my ‘services’ he paid me — with lunch and books. This was my start, and that site was horrendous. However, it helped shape me and give me a foundation to build from. I learned about actually putting a site in a production environment. Though I laugh every-time I look at that site — it was a learning experience. I am not coming down on those learning to create. I know there are people, like my friend above, who would rather have their friend do their website. My main concern is that instead of using these as learning experiences, the developers and designers are trying to charge ridiculous rates to companies without really knowing what they are doing. The client is the one who will suffer for this, not the web developer or designer. I couldn’t have accepted payment for that first site — I didn’t even know what I was doing. I had to call the ISP to help me with FTP and uploading my files. However, he was gracious enough to buy my books (HTML books) in return for my time.

   My wife is a nurse and still in nursing school. She has one more year to go. She amazes me with the knowledge she has. She is a very hard worker and takes the time to learn her trade. However, even now, there are certain things she is not permitted to do in a hospital setting. You see, the hospital has high standards — and before you can do certain tasks, you need to have the training and understanding to do those tasks. Yes, I know building a website is not life threatening, but the principle still stands: know your trade.

I hope that you can take my post as a challenge — not as a rant. I am not saying for others to give up, I am simply challenging you to know your trade. Know why you are doing what you are doing and do it to the best of your ability. I had an ugly start with my first website — and it challenged me to learn more and evolve over time. Without the help of other great developers and friends (and many books) I wouldn’t have evolved at all. The Internet is rapidly changing, and as web developers and designers we need to understand how that change impacts users. I would have never dreamed of charging anyone for a website then — I simply didn’t have the knowledge. I was lucky to come on as an intern during college and get to learn new techniques and standards under some great people. Even then, I was evolving. Even now, I am evolving. So — please, don’t take this as bashing or an elitist rant — it IS a challenge.

Examples:

I am listing these as examples of web developers and designers in my area that I referenced in my previous post. I have listed for you to review. Ask yourself — would you pay {insert design firm here} to build a professional website?

• Whitemyer Advertising
• Zoar Interactive
• Tusco.net
• Celuch Creative Imaging
• Wilkshire.net
• Tarulli Video
• New Phila Nazarene Church - Website shows a mixture of bad practices. Using open source for a calendar (which uses frames and has several vulnerabilities), using open source for the staff page to update their pages, using open source for the photo galleries, the code generation from Adobe is bloated, and bad case of spanitis and divitis. This is my home church website.
• Four Winds Graphics
• Johnson Web Design
• Out of the Box Web Design
• Prestige Creative Marketing
• Provision
• SSBBS
• jhebworks
• Cling Company
• Innis Maggiore

Resources

A few resources related to some of the topics above.

• PHP Security Consortium
• Essential PHP Security
• Web Design from Scratch — your complete guide to web design
• Five Rules for Great Websites
• What to look for in web design talent
• How to promote your website
• Levels of HTML knowledge
• Evaluating Website Accessibility