My Web pages are created with BBEdit on a Macintosh. Other tools used are Gimp and Finale Allegro (for creating MIDI files).
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. Except where the file is designed for a particular platform, 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. I recommend FireFox with the NoScript extension.
Some webmasters design not to HTML standards, but to browsers; they claim that if their pages work with 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.
The latest abomination is mainstreamed cross-site scripting. Websites require third-party Javascript for user access to work, letting one site collect information on your activity at multiple sites. You will never see any third-party Javascript on this site.
Last updated August 9, 2009