Big changes are underway at jason.pearce.net. It’s likely, however, that you will hardly notice a thing, for most of the changes are happening behind the scenes.
I have laboriously spent several days updating the code that drives my website from HTML 4.01 to XHTML 1.0 with CSS2. Yea, I know, you want it in layman’s terms.
Basically, I am converting my site from one set of coding standards to a more modern and fluid set of standards. I’m doing this impart to demonstrate my skills to potential employers. I also find this kind of challenge to be fun. Yep, I’m a geek.
My new design will look similar to the old site but will now comply with web standards. Unfortunately, not all browsers were built to comply with web standards, which means for some of you, my new site will look very different. The content of this site will be accessible in any browser, but the design will only work in browsers that support these later standards.
These new standards focus on the separation of style from content, which will allow support for non-traditional browsers, from Palm Pilots to Braille readers, without building multiple versions of every page. A neat concept.
Considering the new laws about web accessibility (Section 508), I’m further hoping that by demonstrating that I know how to use XHTML and CSS to separate style from content I might gain permanent or contract redesign work from government-funded websites; jobs that I otherwise would not be qualified to take.
Stay tuned for more behind-the-scenes information.
Jason, I enjoyed your column in the Cross & Crescent entitled “Online Magazine Tells Stories”.It was easy to read and explained clearly and concisely why the change needed to be made.Your technical writing skills are superb! Love, Dad