Future-oriented web design: Gradual enhancement of content and outer layer separation

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A wide range of terminal devices now demands more web design

It's time to think about the future and design a web of experience-friendly. There are a variety of terminals, such as desktops, notebooks, netbooks, tablets, multi-function phones, smartphones, and so on, and this is just the beginning. The pace of technological upgrading is accelerating, and our work processes, standards and infrastructure are reaching the limits they can afford. This interconnected era continues to create new challenges, as well as huge opportunities.

No one can predict what will happen in the future. How stupid it would be if someone said they could create something that never went out of fashion. While we cannot anticipate the solutions to this diverse development in advance, as creators of the Web, we can do some preparation to better deal with the future.

First, we must acknowledge and embrace this unpredictability of the future, thus confronting the future in a friendly manner. We should not have a lucky assumption: This confusion is temporary, and after a while, everything will return to normal. With the advent of more and more connected devices each day, we are entering a time of constant and changing diversity. These facts require us to rethink the content we create, the environment in which the product interacts with the user, and the services we provide.

The introduction of services closely related to users

People's chatter is rapidly diminishing. According to the study, the average American can consume 34GB of valuable content a day, so everyone is looking for ways to reduce noise, out of necessity. The AutoPay service reduces the junk in the entity mailboxes. With DVR, Netflix Instant, ad block Plus and BitTorrent, users don't have to be distracted by the time of the program and the ads, and they are free to choose content. Tools like Instapaper, readability, Safari reader and Flipboard can help users stay away from the social tools, Blogroll, ads and nasty overlay.

Mobility is also a huge driver of this correlation. Most Americans end up in contact with a cell phone before they sleep, and the first thing they do when they wake up is to pick up the phone. We have a close relationship with mobile devices, so we want them to be an extension of ourselves. We want them to release only the content and functionality we need. There is not enough time, broadband, screen size, etc., we still suffer from a lot of external problems.

As Web designers, we should embrace these trends, respect the user's time, and create a valuable experience.

Focus on what the user cares about most

How should we respond to the fact that devices will become more diverse and users will gradually shrink? To better fit in the future, perhaps the most important thing we need to do is focus. We must pinpoint what is most important to users and customers.

In the past few years, we have simply added content and function, but neglected the structure of the Web site comb. Ultimately, Web sites and services become bloated, unwieldy, and unable to meet the needs of today's rapid growth. The slow loading speed of the page, messy and cumbersome navigation bar, messy toolbars, there are some less perfect features, so that users suffer.

To address these issues, we must conduct an in-depth analysis of the services provided and build strong content strategies to ensure that the content we provide is meaningful to both users and customers. Each new feature, every line of code, and the corner book included in the product should be targeted and closely related to the content architecture of the site. We must decisively remove the dross and provide a strong, user-centric experience.

Former Ford and Chrysler CEO Lee Iacocca asked "What role can it play when deciding whether a car's performance, ancillary products or plans should be continued or abandoned?" When we consider adding a certain content and function, we should also learn to ask Mr. Iacocca how it works, to test our products and services. Is this really going to enhance the user experience? What is the way to make our business better?

Get rid of some useless load, liberate it from the development of a more core position, the user really needs the function, so that our products in the competition to stand out. Provide a simpler, faster, smoother use experience from the user's vision.

"User patience is limited, not to mention mobile devices facing small screens. Unless you focus on the design, the user may not have time to understand your product, you have abandoned it. "-marcos Lara

If we want to be more agile to keep up with the pace of change, we need to get rid of some baggage. Focus on our user experience and make it simpler.

Design a product like "water"

Whether you're ready or not, users have started interacting with our products on multiple devices. In many cases, these devices are not present when we design these products. And this has prompted mobile interaction design expert Josh Clark to say that we should think of our products as water, which can be poured into many different containers.

Do not attempt to overwrite all platforms

In many cases, companies simply deal with the problems that lie ahead, such as new devices, browsers, local platforms, social media channels, and so on. So we will be like the workers on the assembly line, the rush to move to a growing variety of channels. We should not catch up with a swarm of platforms, but also realize that our product content needs to expand to more areas and invest in the content infrastructure. And this is an investment in the future.

Separation of content and presentation layer to realize seamless migration of platform

To create more responsive content, you need to discard previously WYSIWYG, Web page text-editing tools, swapping more modular, cross-platform, metadata-rich systems. Better content management tools, more powerful APIs, can produce more portable data content, and are easier to adapt to future development without relying on a particular technology.

"The portability of content to ensure that it is ported to all platforms to survive and thrive. "--daniel Jacobson

NPR's Cope (Create Once Publish Everywhere) system has become a model for next-generation content management systems. It separates content from presentation layers, enabling content to be displayed in Web pages, local applications, and various environments. Developers can still write content using markup language, but will eventually be converted into a Cross-platform language for storage. The system avoids the storage markup language, the presentation layer style, and the content is modular, so that the content is more lightweight, and can be the best style to adapt to a particular environment. More importantly, NPR does not have to do a full test of their systems on the platform that appears.

Provide more concise, more flexible data, we can make our products and services in the future to have a better chance of survival.

Progressive enhancement--new methodology

"Water content" is affecting the design and construction of the Web user experience. People are using different kinds of equipment, and the variety will be more and more, it is doomed to the product on each device performance, element style and solutions can not be unified, standardized.

According to Moore's fixed salad, as time moves, the device will become faster and stronger, and its cost will be greatly reduced. Users will also get low-cost, "good enough" web terminal equipment.

"Technical professionals know about Moore's salad, but they often forget an important aspect: the cost is reduced while performance is growing." "--scott Jenson

The thresholds for terminal equipment are low (free operating systems, inexpensive hardware), leading to a flood of inexpensive interconnected devices. Just as the ipad 5 is definitely better than the ipad 2, we need to consider products that offer different properties: good, rough, and performance in between. Because these screens are people who want to interact, explore, learn, and enjoy.

In order to meet this diversity, we need to increase the capacity of progressive enhancement by one level. In addition to exploring new features, we need to go further, adapting and incrementally enhancing products based on the size of the device's screen, broadband, JavaScript support, and device performance. By giving up some of the comforts of the assumption, moving first as a design idea and building a core experience, we can build a stable foundation to support more platforms. In many cases, the core experience has achieved better results, and incremental enhancements will help push the product to more users.

Structured content adapted to future multi-platform environments

Everything will start with the markup language. Even the most annoying browsers recognize markup languages. HTML5 opens the door for an enhanced user experience. In the face of many mobile devices constantly changing, we realize that the basic, concise, powerful markup language is the best tool to develop across many platforms.

"The market for mobile devices is changing. Performance also continues to change. Perhaps only structured content can be moved to a future platform. "--stephen Hay

Flexible style, adaptable to multiple screens

Now that we realize that the width of the Web page is not limited to 960px size, we are gradually returning to the flow characteristics of the web. Thanks to responsive web design, it provides specific techniques to accommodate screens of all sizes, while ensuring that design layouts and performance styles remain the same. Perhaps more importantly, responsive design provides a much-needed development language, and relies on it that we do not have to consider the size of the screen and the hardware environment separately when discussing the design.

In the face of the challenges of device diversification, responsive web design is not omnipotent (not as it claims to be), but it is an important step. We still need to solve the content hierarchy problem by means of context, source code, input mode, media, etc.

Positioning platform advantages of different platforms

Mobile devices and other emerging platforms vary in size on the screen, and the flexible layout structure becomes extremely important. Each platform has its own advantages and limitations, the developer must choose carefully. While it is important to provide consistent access to content, this does not mean that we should provide users of all platforms the same size of service that can accommodate all platforms.

Understand the environment in which users use the product

Users are in more and more ways to interact with our products, the user's use of the environment directly affects our product design goals. We should not simply cut down some content or functionality based on the user's device, we should understand the user's environment for using the product. To determine where to strengthen and optimize. How does a busy user benefit from your service? Why should users visit your site on their TV? What is the difference between a laptop user visiting our website and a tablet user? Asking these questions can help us prioritize goals and avoid passing the opportunity.

Fully utilize the performance of the equipment

Some browsers now support touch-screen control, geo-positioning, and hardware acceleration. It is hoped that future browsers will have access to more APIs for the device. This provides more opportunities for improving the user experience based on device performance. For example, we often forget that a mobile phone is a communication tool used to call and send messages. How do we use these features to better attract users?

Now, some devices can call. Future devices may have access to the Kinect's gestures, voice input, and even other functions that are still in the design. Now the emerging multiple screens provide an exciting opportunity for us to interact with each other's screens. Let's complete these new features and make the Web a new, exciting place.

Conclusion

The idea of a future-friendly web includes a lot of content: Web standards, content policies, incremental enhancements, responsive design, and more. This is more powerful than any method or technique. It helps us to think out of the scope of existing projects and helps us prepare for a future that is full of innovation and continuous change. (Compile: Csdn Chen)