Java Applets are Good Examples of Bad Web Design
The way I see it, there are three basic types of experienced individuals involved in web development: the developer, the web developer, and the web designer.
Granted, we’ve all seen (or been stalked by) individuals that don’t fit into any of the three categories; members of this fourth group are the people that give the web a bad name. These self-proclaimed web designers are recent acquirers of any basic graphics editing software who sell their services for $100 to their Aunt Sally, offering to create her a website on her beloved dog Fluffy. Unfortunately, Aunt Sally thinks that the “website” is terrific and plants the seeds of further web çráp in the mind of the non-designer. I mean, who in their right mind creates a website with dark blue lettering on a black background?! These inexperienced people are as far from being web designers as I am from being a Playboy bunny.
Web designers are the graphic guys, the really creative ones that create visually stunning layouts. Unfortunately, they often have no concept of usability or user interface design even though they really should. On the other hand, professional developers are the programmers, the guys that live and breathe C++, C#, or Java. They, too, have no concept of usability or user interface design, although it is questionable whether they should understand it because they are hopefully kept a long, long way from the implementation of the user interface. Web developers are the marriage of the two, people who have the visual acuity as well as the experience to know what can and can not be done, sometimes even what should and should not be done. Really experienced web developers understand the missing piece that complete the successful web development pie: usability and user interface design.
Which finally leads me to the discuss of applets. Applets are bad. Repeat the previous sentence 10 times, hopefully out loud in a crowded room of web designers and developers. Applets create confusion for users. Applets are slow to load. Applets are usually frivolous and unnecessary. Don’t use an applet just because you can! Applets are bad. Applets are bad. Applets are bad. Say it another 10 times just to make sure it sticks.
“[One of the] Ten New Mistakes of Web Design: [Using] applets where plain or Dynamic HTML would have done the trick.” — Jakob Nielsen (THE authority on web design)
“Java applets: They take forever to download and contribute nothing in the way of actual content. Sometimes they offer the added bonus of crashing your browser or providing a mouse hole for “malicious content” (i.e., viruses).” — Information Today
“Applets are usually inaccessible and sometimes unsupported [by browsers]. Always provide alternatives.” — Microsoft Usability Research Department
“Java applets are bad news, and have always been bad news. They were a hack that awkwardly solved a temporary problem with Web client dynamics, a problem that has since been more elegantly solved by DHTML scripting.” — JavaWorld
“If you can avoid using Java Applets, do so.” — J.P. Thiel (Computer Security Analyst)
“All applets from all sources, whether signed or not, can read and write files in /usr/tmp.” — Attacks from Outside the Operating System, Prentice Hall
“Ensure that pages are usable without support for applets.” — Irish National Disability Authority
“Web Site Guidelines: Provide alternatives to all controls and applets.” — Microsoft Developers Network, Cabrillo College, Purdue University, University of Illinois, University of Bath, Arkansas State University, Clemson University, University of Wisconsin, University of Melbourne, Indiana University, Tennessee Technological University, Illinois Center for Instructional Technology Accessibility
“Ensure that pages are usable when applet [support] is turned off.” — W3C, Swinburne University, University of Arkansas, Southern Illinois University, University of Washington, Lancaster University, Arkansas Office of Information Technology, Illinois Center for Instructional Technology Accessibility, Royal National Institute of the Blind, California Polytechnic State University, Frostburg State University, Humboldt State University, State University of New York, NSW Government Chief Information Office
“You should consider removing all applets from your websites.” — IBM Accessibility Center
“Avoid using applets.” — University of California, Berkeley
“Applets introduce usability and deployment issues.” — Apple Computer Developer Connection
Developers often use applets just because they can or, worse, because they don’t know how to do it another way. Don’t fall into the uneducated and unprofessional trap of using applets when some well-thought-out DHTML will do. Spread the word. Yes, I wrote this because I have recently had fruitless discussions and arguments with a roomful of various-level developers and junior management. Being new to the company, my extensive experience is somewhat disregarded when my recommendations conflict with the current path of “development”…
[To those who care, this is blog entry #400 -- Another monumental milestone!]
“I have recently had fruitless discussions and arguments with a roomful of various-level developers and junior management”
You’re just eager to lunch at the Duke, aren’t you.
Wassup With Web 2.0?
Just been flicking through various pieces of coverage about the recent Web 2.0 conference. Is it just the reporting, or does this all look a bit on the weak side?
Well. I get the point you are trying to make. You think Java applets are bad! I wonder, could you add the dates of the articles you took those quotes from? Applets *used* to be bad. Sure. I’m not convinced that’s true anymore.
Most of these are not from old articles but are from current (as of this authoring date of this rambling) guidelines by the respective organizations. I’ll side with fellow experts from Apple, IBM, and (dare I say it!) Microsoft on this one! - RDL
Thanks for the clarification! I agree with much that Apple, IBM and Microsoft people say with regard to applets. That is - when you have dynamic content in web pages (Java applets being a prime example) you should be aware of: a) the accessibility issues this can cause; and b) the various ways of dealing with these issues.
agree with your article richard. its funny that you mention usability, white writing on a black background is a no no!! he he
Actually, many studies have shown that light text on darker backgrounds is significantly easier to read because it reduces strain on the eyes; the intensity of radiated light from a monitor as far greater than the reflected light from paper. Sitting down and working at a computer all day is the equivalent of staring at a burning light bulb all day, and is a leading cause of headaches in today’s modern offices. Being against the norm, especially when the norm is wrong, is not necessarily a no-no.
At least it’s not blue on blue…
Well, this is what I think about black backgrounds:
Any color text on a black background hurts my eyes. I can read black text on white all day long without a problem. An amazing number of people have their brightness or contrast turned all the way up, and that will make a white background hard to take. The trick is not to be lazy and actually adjust the brightness and contrast until it looks right since every monitor is different.
I also give people a choice of background colors on my web site below my navigation to satisfy just about anyone.
Having just now viewed my website for the first time on a conventional CRT monitor, I must admit that it is substantially more difficult to read than it is on my nice, modern, crisp flat-panels — especially the pumpkin-colored links in my green-backgrounded comments. That said, I really don’t care that much. While, I am pleased that many people find even some of my blog entries informative, entertaining, amusing, or whatever, I really write this blog for me and me alone. OK, maybe I’ll include my family and friends. However, since this website is not part of my resume or a true example of what I do professionally, I don’t mind breaking the rules while simultaneously (and sometimes vehemently) espousing them…
But that orange on green is REALLY hard to read.