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WebConf Riga: Pushing the Boundaries Without Breaking the Web

Rachel Andrew
November 11, 2012

WebConf Riga: Pushing the Boundaries Without Breaking the Web

The version of this talk presented at WebConf Riga on the 11th November 2012

Rachel Andrew

November 11, 2012
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  1. <script type="text/javascript"> <!-- function MM_reloadPage(init) { if (init==true) with (navigator)

    {if ((appName=="Netscape")&&(parseInt(appVersion)==4)) { document.MM_pgW=innerWidth; document.MM_pgH=innerHeight; onresize=MM_reloadPage; }} else if (innerWidth!=document.MM_pgW || innerHeight!=document.MM_pgH) location.reload(); } MM_reloadPage(true); //--> </script> Sunday, 11 November 12
  2. Things used by people who understand the problems they solve

    are also used by those who do not understand those problems, or even if there is a problem. Sunday, 11 November 12
  3. The web is a work in progress. Your job? To

    deal with it. Sunday, 11 November 12
  4. Understanding the technology your audience is using gives you a

    point of reference for your decisions. Sunday, 11 November 12
  5. <link rel="stylesheet" href="/assets/css/basic.css" /> <link rel="stylesheet" media="only screen and (min-width:

    460px)" href="/ assets/css/460.css" /> <link rel="stylesheet" media="only screen and (min-width: 700px)" href="/ assets/css/700.css" /> <link rel="stylesheet" media="only screen and (min-width: 940px)" href="/ assets/css/940.css" /> <link rel="stylesheet" media="only screen and (min-width: 1180px)" href="/ assets/css/1180.css" /> Sunday, 11 November 12
  6. Option 3: Offer a fixed width version of the site

    to IE8 and below Sunday, 11 November 12
  7. Option 2: avoid using HTML5 semantic elements in the templates

    until IE8 usage declines Sunday, 11 November 12
  8. Replacing divs with semantic elements later is trivial due to

    our template based CMS. Sunday, 11 November 12
  9. We (edgeofmyseat.com) are retained to maintain & develop the site.

    We can make these changes when old browser usage reduces. Sunday, 11 November 12
  10. Avoiding using the tag in your selectors means you can

    switch tags in your templates without changing your CSS. Sunday, 11 November 12
  11. My decision to fix the width for older browsers also

    made polyfilling CSS3 selectors much easier. Sunday, 11 November 12
  12. Solution: put in place technology that will enable us to

    adopt a solution later Sunday, 11 November 12
  13. 1. What is the problem? My process 2. What are

    my constraints? 3. Is not supporting this feature an option? 4. What current solutions exist? 5. Use a polyfill or roll my own? Sunday, 11 November 12
  14. How many users of the Perch website do not have

    support for the modern web technologies we want to use? Sunday, 11 November 12
  15. I use more polyfills when I have fewer older browser

    users. The downsides are going to be an issue to a much smaller % Sunday, 11 November 12
  16. If you don’t know what it is doing. Why is

    it there? Sunday, 11 November 12
  17. Starting with the bare minimum and adding things forces you

    to consider the implications of each thing you add. Sunday, 11 November 12
  18. There’s no silver bullet to making a slow site fast.

    You must take a holistic approach. High performance runs the entire way through from the hardware it’s hosted on, through the app that builds the pages, to the server software that delivers the pages and the front end code that displays them in a browser. Drew McLellan - http://allinthehead.com/retro/361/how-to-make-your-website-fast Sunday, 11 November 12
  19. Web pages are getting larger and a lot of the

    size is down to JavaScript. http://royal.pingdom.com/2011/11/21/web-pages-getting-bloated-here-is-why/ Sunday, 11 November 12
  20. ... no matter how old we are, how long we

    have been doing this, and whether we write tutorials or speak at conferences or not. Sunday, 11 November 12
  21. If we train people to just copy and paste, we

    stop them growing, learning and contributing. Sunday, 11 November 12
  22. Make sure you know why you are using a solution

    and what your other options are. Sunday, 11 November 12
  23. When teaching or writing tutorials for others explain problems before

    handing out the solution. Explain why as well as how. Sunday, 11 November 12
  24. Thank you. @rachelandrew http://rachelandrew.co.uk http://grabaperch.com http://edgeofmyseat.com Image credits - Flickr

    users: artbystevejohnson, atoach, dominicspics, imagesbywestfall, koalazymonkey, pinksherbert, whatcouldgowrong Sunday, 11 November 12