[thelist] Dropdowns - good or bad?

Richard H. Morris richard.morris at web-designers.co.uk
Wed Nov 22 12:11:50 CST 2000


Martin Burns wrote:

> -----Original Message-----
> Absolutely. I'm not involved in the design of our site (I'm a consultant)

I didn't think for a minute that you were ~:0)

> >... this one.
> ie you prefer the site with the greater usability.

..and speed of searching, as it happens.

> btw, my question was about whether sites will become more whizzy,
> not whether
> I have a 14.4k modem

And my response was about the current and future bandwidth available to the
corporates.

> Usability is not a synonym for 'no design'. Take a look at
> Jeff Z's site (http://www.zeldman.com/) - highly usable.

And visually appealing: one of my favourite sites.

> Take a look
> at http://www.open.gov.uk - highly usable, standards compliant *and*
> accessible.

And better, IIRC, than their first attempts at a web site. It's coming along
in leaps and bounds.

> Worst case - take a look at my site
> (http://www.easyweb.co.uk/) -
> usable and not exactly Nielsen-ugly.

Agreed. "Minimalist", I reckon ~;0)

> >Immature, like Ford, Jaguar, Audi, etc. ?
> In web terms, yes. Read back a few days to Bob's post about Jaguar.

I remember it well. The site didn't stop me from registering though ~:0)

> >Agreed. I have yet to use Flash for a web site.
> I used it for parts of http://www.rbs.co.uk/archives/memorybank/ (quoting
> URL from memory), where it added value (and OK, one menu cos we
> were requiring users to have it to view the interactive stuff)(

Would that others didn't follow the lead and add flash where it does add
value. What's the point of a whizbang Flash intro page that tells you
nothing other than "Click here to enter" ?

> >> If the client is providing a public service in the UK (also other
> >> countries,
> >> but the UK is the area I know best) then they're legally bound to be
> >> accessible.
>
> ><genuine question> I'm not aware of that legal requirement:
> could you give
> >details?
> 1995 Disability Discrimination Act: http://www.disability.gov.uk/
> the same legislation which makes banks/supermarkets install ramps
> etc. There's no exemption for web sites - current legal thinking is that
> Level A conformance to the W3C WAI guidelines will satisfy the
> minimum requirements.

I'm aware of the physical access provisions to premises and physical sites
and have been involved in the consultation process (to a limited extent
through business law committees) on the roll-out provisions in relation to
offices and premises and the like with the consequent alterations to
building envelopes.

I can't see how that translates into a legal requirement for disabled access
to a web site though.

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Richard. H. Morris, Web Designers Limited
~~ http://www.web-designers.co.uk ~~
"I'd rather have a full bottle in front of me
          than a full frontal lobotomy"
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