My Web pages are created with BBEdit on a Macintosh. Other tools used are Photoshop LE, Finale Allegro (for creating MIDI files), and Stuffit Deluxe.
Since my main purpose is to convey information, not to dazzle readers or to make them wait a long time for downloads, I've made light use of graphics. Everything on my pages can be read with a text-only browser, with very little loss of information. (How many pictures are needed to review a book?)
No Javascript, Java, or plug-ins are required to access anything on my pages. There is no blinking text, animated graphics, or other excesses of Web design. Some of the downloadable files do require appropriate software tools; I favor ZIP format as the most widely supported compression format for general-interest items, and SIT format for Macintosh-specific data. Except where the file is designed for a particular platform (e.g., the Macintosh application EightyRez), it should be readable on any modern computer. The MIDI files for the tunes under "Songs of Freedom" can be either played with a plug-in or downloaded for playing with a separate application.
No particular browser is needed to read my pages. However, I encourage Macintosh users to take a look at iCab, a highly customizable browser which doesn't have the bloated feel of Netscrape or Internet Exploder. It's still in pre-release versions, so some features aren't fully implemented yet, but it's certainly worth a look. (Update 2005: iCab has fallen behind in development, and my preferred browser is now Firefox.)
Some webmasters design not to HTML standards, but to browsers; they claim that if their pages work with Netscape and Internet Explorer with all features turned on, but don't work with other browsers or with configurations which they haven't tested, they've done their job. Aside from pushing people toward fewer choices, this is a trial-and-error method of design, and is likely to break even with future releases of the products which the page does ostensibly support.
Correct HTML, conservatively written to avoid features which haven't been widely adopted yet, will work on most browsers. Additional features are fine, if they're added in such a way that the page is still useful to those who don't use them. But an incredible portion of so-called webmasters today don't even know basic HTML. They simply use their page-generation programs and take the results on faith, not even using an HTML verification program. In many cases, they actually don't know what they're requiring of the reader.
People who design pages this way often rationalize that they aren't getting any complaints about their pages, so they must be doing a good job. But just how many of the unreadable Web pages which you come across do you bother to complain about? Most people just move on to another page; some may tinker with their settings in an attempt to read it, but few will actually send in feedback.
Some Web pages put up messages which say, in effect, "Sorry, you don't have Flash installed or cookies enabled. Please enable cookies in your browser and download Flash, or get an upgrade for your old, worthless browser, or we won't let you read our page." When I see a page like that, I just move on to something else. If you don't want my business, that's fine.
Last updated December 25, 2005