Services & Approach
Progressive Enhancement
My approach to building digital products is "Progressive Enhancement". That means: I use semantic HTML to build a most basic version of your website or web app, making sure their core features run on outdated systems. Then I check with the help of, e.g. JavaScript or CSS, whether the browser supports more sophisticated features. If that is the case I'll use these technologies to improve the visitor's experience. With this approach, not every website looks the same in every browser, but it's ensured that the website's core - its content - is available to all. Modern browsers are rewarded instead of obsolete browsers being penalized.
Good user experience
How do you feel when you visit a website you are not familiar with? Do you want to scan the website quicky in order to get the information or functionality you need - or do you want to admire the creativity, unusualness, and one-of-a-kind website navigation?
I assume it's the first intention. Then again, I can relate to the operator's reasoning behind it - often it's an attempt to communicate certain aspects of your brand or character. However, following "best practices" (established methods) is no sign of narrow-mindedness or a lack of creativity. To the contrary - best practices are of the formula for success when it comes to your digital product.
Smart website performance
The average website these days is about 3.4 MB in size (source). At the same time, pure desktop use of the Internet has decreased for years. Mobile use of the web and corresponding transfer rates are the "new normal". Therefore, digital products need an intelligent strategy when it comes to loading assets - and I can help you to make the most of all available possibilities to avoid sending these 3.4 MB over the ether. For example detecting user contexts programmatically - and serving web resources just in the needed size and dimension.
Accessibility / Inclusive Design
Accessibility is more than making your digitial products useable for people with disabilities. At a time when more and more everyday activities take place on the Web and the average Internet user is getting older at the same time, inclusive and empathetic design leaves no one out in the cold - not even potential new target groups for you and your company. As access-for-all.ch aptly states: "[Accessibility] is an expression of competence in communication and technology and it signals that "customers are taken seriously".
Read more about my services regarding accessibility of websites and web apps.
Modularity and low maintenance
Creation is not the only cost factor in the life cycle of a website or app. If you add up maintenance and expansion expenses over a period of time, costs can reach or even exceed the initial investment. This is where successful technical planning in advance makes the difference: Does your project scale elegantly, or does every change require a rebuild of half the project? Here I will gladly help you save money . In the conception phase we consider future change and growth of your website right from the beginning.