Website Review of itcraftapps.com
(Blog-post About Progressive Enhancement)
When beginning this website review, I found that a "simple" Google search on this topic didn't produce as many comprehensive results for a newbie like myself. I am sure that if I had more experience in website coding, many of the sites would make perfect sense, however; for this exercise, I needed something thorough, yet basic enough for a beginner to understand. After a bit of searching, I was pleased to find this blog-post here at, https://itcraftapps.com/blog/progressive-enhancement-give-everyone-access-to-your-website/, as it provides a clear picture of progressive enhancements, it's importance, purpose, and basic functionality.
The website is for an online commerce business that creates mobile apps. This website is full of content which is organized very well. The layout is user friendly and has pleasant contrast and graphics. Although its main focus is to sell their products, it is full of information for anyone looking for a good place to research the "ins and outs" of modern technology. I couldn't help but to notice the fragment identifiers contained in their blog-posts, I was impressed with my ability to pick them out :) I personally like the ticker on the top of the screen; it brings a level of interest not usually seen. Overall, this website is probably one of the better ones I have seen. It is already in my bookmarks as a resource for future visits.
From the blog-post above, I was able to learn more about progressive enhancements. In short, it comes down to accessibility regardless of internet connection, browser, or device. This is primarily achieved by using layers for building websites. Those layers are, first, the main content contained in a well-designed HTML file. This is the file where search engine spiders and screen readers do their work. The next layer is the CSS file. Most browsers can read and render the information here, but if it is not supported, there is always the sturdy content from the HTML defaults to fall back on. The third layer is the JavaScript. Even though we haven't stepped into this functionality with this class yet, this article brings some understanding into the discussion. JavaScript, although not accessible by some browsers, it is an additional layer which provides websites an advanced user experience. Staying true to progressive enhancements, if JavaScript is not supported, the browser will default to the next level down the list. In today's world, where the internet has become such a necessity, progressive enhancement is a promising solution to the goal in making it accessible to all.