By Mat Marquis CHAPTER 5The day BostonGlobe.com launched, we opened the site up on a
number of devices which we never tested and definitely didn’t plan for in
advance: a first-generation Amazon Kindle, a Nintendo DS, the Playstation
3’s built-in browser, and even an Apple Newton. At no point were we
presented with a blank screen: no matter the context, we could use the
website to the best the device could allow.
Every time a new device shows up for the jQuery Mobile test lab,
we have a look at the Globe site — and so far, we’re batting a thousand.
No panicked emails about updating UA strings; no worrying about
new mismatched features, or unplanned display sizes. There are new
enhancements we could make as new browser features and APIs roll out,
of course, but our foundation is solid and we’re never limited by it. It works
everywhere, for everyone. By following a few principles for serving assets
responsibly, you can do the same.
Building websites is a complicated business, and it isn’t an easy
one. That’s the nature of the game, not the fault of any of the tools or
techniques we use. The most challenging part of developing for the Web is
simplifying: stripping away the inessentials. Responsive Web design can
ensure that we don’t hinder the inherent flexibility of the Web; progressive
enhancement can ensure that we don’t hinder the inherent usability of
the Web. The very first page of the Web, to this day, works for users of any
browsing context.
We can’t expect to always get everything right; we’re still going to bend
a nail or two here and there. Our tools aren’t perfect either. But we can do
better — we can always do better — and we can use the tools we’ve got to
build amazing things. We might be a little clumsy right now, but we’re just
getting started.