Jay wrote: > So here is the question: > What are the benefits of web standards for small business that can be > sufficiently > measured in results for the business both in the long and short term?
Jay, been thinking about this for a few days. As youve pointed out, youre really interested in small business & short term. the long term benefits are clear. The only tangible benefit to small businesses (in my experience) is that you should be able to knock out something for a small business quicker than an old skool developer. i did a site for a small company a while ago and i didnt even mention to the guy i was planning to use standards. all he needed to know was it would be fast to load, and it looked good. heres the site for the heck of it: (NOTE: do *not* click on this website if the odd swear/curse word offends you. its just a surfboard store website, theres no offensive imagery, but there is the odd swear word in the stores blog/commentary :) Feedback about this aspect is not required on this list. http://sixounceboardstore.com.au/ Only reason i link to this is that it was essentially a markup template i had used for a previous site and then knocked this out in 4 or so hours. it might have taken someone else using tables a lot longer to wysiwyg up all the tables & fiddle with all the nav rollovers and stuff. the client was just happy it looked good and was done quickly. your 2nd question: >> How do we, as a group start to bring the message to the masses? its already being delivered well to big business. but for small business, I dont think we need to. I agree with Ben. Small business generally speaking do not need to know. unless of course they flat out ask. they're going to be a lot more interested in simple costs and looks. *We* know web standards are the best thing to apply. They are just another tool in our toolbelt. in the words of a multinational, Just do it. At the end of the day, web standards are just a small % of what goes into a good website. Ease of use, aesthetic appeal, compelling content & an accurate portrayal of the brand all play just as big a part if not more than simply web standards. If theres competition out there that are doing a better job of all those latter qualities they are going to win the job even if they employ tables for layout. and quite rightly i think. dont take that the wrong way, i think theres a better option than tables for layout - but we need to keep web standards in perspective. they're not the be-all and end-all. small businesses only need a small story when hiring someone to do their site, and in my experience, web standards just arent a big enough story to make the cut. i just do it. now, spreading the word to developers and designers. thats where the action is :) pete ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Peter Ottery ~ Creative Director Daemon Pty Ltd 17 Roslyn Gardens Elizabeth Bay NSW 2011 http://www.daemon.com.au/ & COMING SOON webDU - the web technology conference http://webdu.com.au/ Sydney, March 2/3 2006 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ****************************************************** The discussion list for http://webstandardsgroup.org/ See http://webstandardsgroup.org/mail/guidelines.cfm for some hints on posting to the list & getting help ******************************************************
