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Need to code for non-javascript users?

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  • 08-05-2009 10:35am
    #1
    gimme5minutes
    Registered Users Posts: 387 ✭✭


    Is there a need to code for people who have javascript disabled or is this group of people an extremely small minority in this day and age? Like who completely disables Javascript these days when every single site out there is using it.


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    #2
    louie
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,200 ✭✭✭louie


    Is not only the user that "might" have javascript disabled which will render website impossible to navigate, but also search engines spidering (trying) your content...


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    #3
    kevteljeur
    Registered Users Posts: 1,287 ✭✭✭kevteljeur


    The problem with building websites is that there are very few safe assumptions that you can make. It's good practice to code from good mark-up upwards, then adding CSS and then Javascript. The site should work at a basic level without either, for everyone, regardless of their browser capabilities. It's known as 'degrading gracefully', or 'Progressive Enhancement' (similar but they start from different ends of the complexity scale). It's good practice, but it does depend a little on your audience.


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    #4
    Eoin
    Registered Users Posts: 21,257 ✭✭✭✭Eoin


    gimme5minutes wrote: »
    Is there a need to code for people who have javascript disabled or is this group of people an extremely small minority in this day and age? Like who completely disables Javascript these days when every single site out there is using it.

    The only time I would say no is if you're designing an internal web-app for a company, where you can make assumptions about the software the users are running.

    I'd try and make sure that the site is still at least functional for people with JavaScript disabled. I wouldn't worry too much about all the bells and whistles.

    Important note - never just rely on client side validation for anything that hits the server, especially database driven applications. This must always be verified by server-side code. Server-side validation is for security, client side validation is purely for a better user experience, and to reduce traffic.


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    #5
    p
    Registered Users Posts: 2,119 ✭✭✭p


    Depends on what the site is. Obviously, if you're writing a web app then using Javascript makes sense.

    As the others mentioned, the main thing is that if someone doens' thave javascript enabled, the site still works, just not as nicely. A good example of this is the 'Lightbox' effect that is popular now. If you click on the images and havs js enabled, then you get a nice fading image slideshow, if not, you just link to the image but can still see it.

    That type of approach is the best way to go!


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