Web Design Podcast (6) – The future of the web
Posted in Podcast on: Tuesday, September 27, 2005 by Paul Boag
So what does the future of the internet have in store? How will this affect your website? This week Paul and Marcus look at emerging technologies and how you can use them on your own site. All without technobabble!
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (17.8MB)
To download the latest podcast click here.
Below is a brief outline of the things covered in this week’s podcast as well as links to some of the sites mentioned:
Avoiding the technobabble
What we try to do is explain the complexity of web design in a way that is accessible to those who are responsible for their organisations website but do not necessarily have the hands on skills to build a site.
The boagworld.com blog and podcast aims to avoid in-depth technical discussion. After all, there are many people out there already doing that. What we try to do is explain the complexity of web design in a way that is accessible to those who are responsible for their organisations website but do not necessarily have the hands on skills to build a site.
With that in mind, this week on the boagworld.com podcast we look at how the web is changing and what impact this will have on your site.
Web 2.0.
The web is currently undergoing a dramatic transformation and many people have referred to this change as the birth of the 2nd generation web, otherwise known as web 2.0. So what changes are occurring and how do they affect your site:
The growth of broadband
Recently years has seen a dramatic growth in broadband with 50% of UK home users now connecting to the internet in this way. But, how does this affect your site?
Multimedia
It gives you the freedom to add more multimedia content such as video, audio, and product demonstrations.
Casual surfing
Broadband users tend to use the web more casually and are not so task orientated. Your website needs to take into account this shift in behaviour by using hooks to keep them coming back until they respond to your call to action.
Broadband services
Less consideration has to be given to the depth of your information architecture, as broadband users do not have to wait as long for additional pages to load. Things can be more clicks away if that helps your architecture be more logical.
Broadband users are more comfortable with services like Skype (internet telephony), podcasting and even IPTV. Consider how these services might fit on your site. Could you provide a "call us" button for Skype users or perhaps a podcast would compliment your site offering.
However, remember, it is more than likely a significant proportion of your users still use dial up so be careful how you implement broadband related changes.
RSS and XML
You will need to listen to the podcast for the details on this one. However, among other things XML provides the following opportunities to website owners:
- The ability to put your content or products on a partner’s site so exposing them to a wider user base
- Allowing better communication with users, while avoiding the pitfalls of email such as SPAM filters and poorly displayed HTML emails.
At the very least you should be considering adding an RSS feed for the news on your site.
User lead services
There is currently a new wave of social services such as digg.com, flickr.com and delicious that gives power to the users. Instead of relying on search engines to find content, these services allow users to recommend content to other users. This will affect the marketing strategy of your site:
- You will need to place less time ensuring good search engine ranking and put more emphasis on the quality of your site
- Because these services are user driven, old tricks used to "trick" automated search engines will no longer work.
- Content will really become king and there will be a greater need than ever to ensure it is engaging.
- Viral marketing techniques may become a more attractive option.
Web standards
I have talked enough about web standards elsewhere in this site so I wont say much here expect to point out that web standards (the separation of content from design) opens up a wide range of possibilities when it comes to branding. The same site could have multiple brands (looks and feels) depending on who is viewing the site and how they found it. Your site no longer needs to have a single look and feel, rather it can change to suit the person viewing or the device they are viewing on.
AJAX
AJAX is the coming together of a number of technologies which have been around for a while. They offer a new range of functionality that can really enhance the usability of your site. I recommend you take a look at the examples below and think about how that kind of functionality could benefit your site:
Google suggest (try typing in a search term)
Google maps (you can add this directly to your own site!)
Personalised Google (try dragging the boxes of content around once logged in)
Other great examples of AJAX at work
But remember not everybody’s browser can handle this kind of code so its important you can still use the site without it. Also, be careful that you do not just use it because it looks cool. Make sure it is useful to your visitors.
News: Headscape is recruiting
If you have a good understanding of XML/XSL/XSLT, web standards, JavaScript, ASP/PHP and SQL server then get in touch. We are happy to consider new graduates, however some form of commercial experience would be required.
You will be required to work alongside our lead developer and so will need to be able to commute to the Southampton area.
Send your CV to paul.boag@headscape.co.uk
For more information on Headscape, visit our very out of date website :)
For more web design related news why not subscribe to my digg.com RSS feed or if you are a digg member add me as a friend at: http://www.digg.com/users/boagworld
13 Comments
Comments are for the discussion of this post. If you have other questions / comments then post them to the forum or send me an email
For your thank you: “Your welcome!”
For Markus’s comment on AJAX making Hotmail into Outlook: http://channel9.msdn.com/Showpost.aspx?postid=118322 (AJAX is turning Hotmail into Outlook! (sort of).
Keep up the good work.
You mentioned that AJAX uses JavaScript. Could you comment on how that might impact on accessibility on sites? I’ve found an article on “Degradable AJAX” you may find interesting.
In order to be accessible a site should work without javascript. Just because AJAX uses JavaScript doesnt mean therefore it is unaccessible. The trick is to ensure that the AJAX elements are coded in such a way they degrade nicely when Javascript is turned off, just as your link suggests. So if for example you used that drag and drop CMS site map I mentioned in the podcast you would also need to make sure it worked through a more traditional method if javascript is turned off.
I prefer the term “Webfeed” for RSS/XML feeds. I think the possible MS “WebClips” is pretty lame since I’m already associating it with a audio/video clip. Anyone else dig Webfeed? If so, let’s start using it. :)
I am not sure about the word “feed” personally. What is a feed? Isnt that something you do “feed a baby” for example. What about “web alerts”?
Enjoyed this week’s podcast. One idea for a future subject: writing and editing for the web. I spend some time every week, cutting people’s long paragraphs into managble chunks, removing the “next week we launch” and “this event will be” from pages published two years ago. In additon, it would be interesting to hear your and Marcus’s thoughts on how people read on the web, how users skim headings and so on. Just a thought. Keep up the good work.
Now that is a good idea. Consider it done. Might even make it next weeks podcast!
There are some good articles about writing for the web by Jakob Nielsen et al that you might find interesting.
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re: letting users change parts of your page.
If you use Firefox, you can use extensions such as platypus to change parts of the page. OK, I know it isn’t quite what you are talking about (as I take it you mean using your own CSS to change the look/layout of a site), but it is start!
Excelent show Paul. I found a great podcast today that I think you may enjoy. Its a podcast from Web Essentials 05.
http://we05.com/podcast/
Thanks Tyler. Glad you enjoyed the show. As for the web essentials podcast… I am already subscribed ;)
Interestingly, Microsoft say they are looking at other names for RSS feeds/Web feeds, so they might not even stick with what they have already tried to rename them!
Using a Firefox extension, you can add AJAX to Yahoo mail!”. Which might be fun!
re: users changing parts of pages with css.
I’ve discovered some code for Firefox/Mozilla that will
let users change the css of specific sites/pages/domains.
There is an “How
to fix Google Groups” page that describes the three
codes, and how to use them.
Paul
Thanks for the podcast. I recently bought us an ipod and one of those FM transmitters for the car, so I can now listen to podcasts whilst driving, which is so much better than radio. Anyway, I am up to episode 6, and it has been very educational. I am primarily a project manager, beginning my first major site this month. I cannot listen to the podcasts fast enough. Thanks for the good work.