Re: More stupid basic questions

Don't forget charities, non-profit groups, and community agencies. Much
broader audience, more browser versions. But your right, gotta know your
target audience.

Edward Springer
----- Original Message -----
From: "Captain F.M. O'Lary" <ctfuzzy(at)canopy.net>
To: <hwg-basics(at)hwg.org>
Sent: Saturday, June 24, 2000 7:02 AM
Subject: Re: More stupid basic questions


> At 11:34 AM 6/24/00 +0300, Lauri V�inRpbg== wrote:
> [ . . .]
> >I usually make 2 versions of my site. One will be pretty plain (tables,
> >text, almost no images, no javascript nor any type of bells and whistles
> >:-)). The other verison of the site will look a lot nicer (layers,
> >JavaScript, images etc)
> [ . . .]
>
> I have a question I'll bet lots of newer developers out there in list land
> are dying to know Mz. Lauri:
>
> *Why* ?
> It seems like two versions of the same content is an awful lot of work.
>
> It seems to me like if user demographics supported using cutting edge
> technology, given the "cost" (at least in my shop) to produce these
> features it would *not* support (justify) catering to the lower end
> browsers if your target audience was say . . . 28 - 40 professional,
making
> 75 - $125,000.
>
> To clarify by example . . . please:
>
> Only two types of sites pop to mind that would "justify" tossing valid
HTML
> in the first place:
>
> 1) Gamers
> 2) On line merchandising (!sales!)
>
> It is my OPINION that gamers are not going to be using NN 2.0 in the first
> place. They are going to have the latest and greatest browsers to support
> the things they have ~already~ decided they want to see and hear on-line.
>
> On-line sales. A little grayer area for the customer demographics,
> obviously the user agent (browser) expected is going to be based on what
> type of merchandise is being offered. You are probably not going to get
too
> many low end browsers shopping for gold plated golf balls! I think the
> common link regardless of the merchandise is going to be the "secure"
> connection for payment processing, and the ability to run scripting (for
> the shopping cart) If the client is going to offer these services on their
> site. Neither of these functions work (reliably - if at all) in low end
> browsers anyway.
>
> SO . . .
>
> 1) I think this does an effective job of illustrating the _ necessity _ of
> doing the demographic research thoroughly ~before~ you start coding.
>
> 2) Makes a wonderful argument FOR the use of valid HTML, and the ~strong~
> avoidance of java script and browser specific code unless necessary - I
> mean required - by the demographics.
>
> Am I living in the dark ages or what?
>
> TIA,
> Fuzzy
>
> __________________________________________________________________
> Captain F.M. O'Lary
> webmaster(at)canopy.net
> sysop(at)mail.ruediger.leon.k12.fl.us
> sysop(at)mail.woodville.leon.k12.fl.us
> Member of the HTML Writers Guild and
> International Webmasters Association
> ------------------------------------------------------------------
>

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