Using the new environment from the previous weeks, research what kinds of technologies may have been used to construct it. Post your findings on your blog.
Is the content dynamic? Or is it static?
Ski Utah Rentals (http://www.ski-utah-rentals.com) is primarily a static content website with animated .gif objects that are used for decoration.
I denote Ski Utah Rentals as being primarily static as it is based on very basic HTML pages hyperlinked to other HTML pages off the root directory. There is no JavaScript, CSS, scripting (client-side or server-side, apart from the form) or database connection on this domain. In fact it is mainly just a tag soup of HTML code, clearly not semantically composed or based upon web standards.
Tag soup and deprecated HTML
Though Ski Utah Rentals, however links to dynamically generated content on tours.360house.com which is a cold fusion site and www.obeo.com which is a .net site, both are used to serve up alternative, dynamically generated photographic resources/360 degree views of the rental accommodation. The use of these other domains is not in keeping with the main site, integration has not occurred in the design, with the only common elements being the accommodation and the author. The user experiences are vastly different, contributing to a confused browsing experience that is both fractured in style and hap-hazard in execution.
The processing engine of Microsoft Front page (webbot) appears to be using SHTML to respond to the form submission, though no script validation occurs. Therefore I can send an empty or error ridden form to the Ski Utah Rentals, creating problems for both the user and the company.
W3C validation
51 errors and 2 warnings
The site is generated in Microsoft Front Page and therefore there are plenty of coding errors and deprecated tags, hence the W3C validator confirms this to me by delivering a report detailing 51 errors and 2 warnings. The navigation is an image map cut up into buttons that appear to have been easy to create, but difficult for any screen reader ti interpret, having no description or alt tag associated. In fact no DOCTYPE or parsing mode is declared which certainly effects consistent rendering in the various web browsers and platforms.
Unfortunately there isn’t a lot that is correct about the way the site has been constructed; this is more than likely due to the approach; one inexperienced person developing/designing/planning/executing and maintaining the whole website. A simple static site such as this one should not have so many things wrong with it and I have deep concerns about the value it offers to John Collins’s business – Collins & Associates Realty.
Does it use simply XHTML, or does it also use another technology like Adobe Flash, for instance.
No, it uses undeclared HTML that is peppered with numerous deprecated tags – “The font element was deprecated in HTML 4.01, and is not supported in XHTML 1.0 Strict DTD” (W3C). This is a very low tech static site with many problematic concerns relating to the preparation of code. No CSS is used and tables make up with framework of the site. Key concerns are around the usage of Microsoft Front Page as a web editor, this website was formed with bad code generated from Microsoft Front Page and has not been given any professional design treatment.
I can understand the client’s need to maintain their own website and reduce costs. Though software such as this and CMS systems that use bloated or proprietary code to generate web content are highly problematic and potentially detrimental to a brand. By ignoring web standards, usability and accessibility in practise, the company is left with an inferior site, which because of the authors tools and the forgiving nature of HTML the author may think it is perfectly acceptable, until told otherwise. The end goal of getting a website up and running is achieved, though the implementation is highly flawed and unnecessarily frustrating for a lot of potential online customers.
So it is clear the gap between business and design is muddied with the use of software that allows sloppy website creation that perpetuates an incorrect D.I.Y. approach to websites that ignore web standards.
Here is an interesting article on the gap between client and design in relation to HTML code/CSS implementation. http://monc.se/kitchen/140/disabling-deprecated-html-using-css
