Recently I posted on my discovery of spoon.net, a service which allowed you to virtually run web browsers on a PC with no install for free. This service seemed to answer the cross-browser testing problem for all PC based web designers; until I re-visited the site again in the last few weeks and discovered Microsoft support had been stopped.

As I am a Mac based designer I hadn’t been using the service that often, so when I revisited the service to see if Mac support had been added I was stunned to see IE had been removed. I was greeted with a message explaining that they hoped to have IE support back soon, so I waited a few weeks and visited again, this time the message was a little more vague, it read ‘Come back soon for more information on how to use Internet Explorer with Spoon!’. So it would seem that Microsoft have pulled the plug and after doing a little research discovered that apparently it is to quote a phrase ‘violating Microsoft’s intellectual property rights’.

Just when something as user-friendly as spoon looked like curing the age old issue of cross-browser testing Microsoft come in with their size 9 boots and squashed the most important part of the service. Yet again Microsoft fail to make their already free software totally user friendly and web designers the world over will need to find alternative ways of checking their websites in all versions of IE.  What Microsoft fail to see is the bigger picture, this move will surely just help accelerate and compound the hate for all things IE and even Microsoft in an increasingly competitive browser market?

I personally hope spoon manage to overcome this ridiculous issue with Microsoft, or at very least Microsoft realise they are being so small minded it will ultimately be detrimental to their already floundering business.

Until then if anyone has discovered any great alternatives to the IE testing issue for both Mac and PC please let me know.

Over the years I have encountered a number of bad practices with website design and content,  usually these are requests by clients who are trying to squeeze every last penny out of their website, but sometimes it is web designers who are creating a project for themselves rather than the end user.  I understand that sometimes it is impossible to always keep to your standards while keeping your client happy, so here are a few tips to aid you in the design and build process.

Do keep your website functional

Since the birth of the Internet web designers have always felt the need to over complicate the aesthetic of websites.  During the early years web designers seemed hell bent on overloading websites with gif and flash animations while not spending any time thinking about the structure of the pages and the framework of the site.

When creating any site think about what you want to achieve with the design and the content.  A site should be intuitive by nature, adding animation may just distract and confuse; think about the content and structure, it isn’t the trendy parts of the site that will make it a success but the quality of what the user finds that will make any website work.

Don’t assume you know everything

As a designer it pays to be open to new ideas and opinions, be careful not to run with an idea just because you think it will work brilliantly or look great.  Spending a large amount of time on a job can mean that you become too close to the project.  I’m not saying don’t trust yourself, just be sure to get as much opinion as possible.

Do think about the user

After building your pages spend some time testing the site, look at it from a neutral perspective.  Things like links opening in new windows or pages with limited or useless content can be very frustrating for an end user, keep any site as self contained and as complete as possible that way the user will trust you and your content.

Testing a site yourself should be a standard part of any project, however, getting others to test can be equally helpful and informative, alternate opinion can help you realise issues you didn’t see during the early stages of design and build, which in turn will help give a more complete end user experience.

Don’t compromise on design

Remember you are the designer and with knowledge and experience you should be able to confidently advise.  Content should be clean and clear online, allow content to frame itself and avoid unsightly borders, also try and spread content evenly over more than one page rather than cramming it all into an unrealistic area.

Always make a design whether personal or commercial unique, avoid passing trends as this can make the site date too quickly and will only bring the need for a re-design forward.  If you create the site for the client in a fresh style that suits their brand you will be more likely to please from the outset.

Summary

You are a designer, so explore all possibilities, listen to those around you, keep things unique but most of all don’t assume you know everything.