Pixelicious

Telling Web Standards Beginners Where To Go

Thursday April 7, 2005 - Permanent link to this post -

I had an email today from an old friend from Uni who I've sort of kept in touch with for the last 5 years. He's currently working in Tech Support but has recently applied for a job as a Web Interface Designer at a company in the Big Smoke (of the North). Now, at University this guy was the King of Web. His design skills were top notch (and still are for all I know) and he would always carry our group on the team-projects. Five years ago he would have been perfect for this type of job. Now however, the job description has a requirement for knowledge of Web Standards and Accessibility.

Since leaving University, my friend had maintained his interest in design and the web, but never really moved on. He doesn't know what XHTML is and has only ever used CSS to change the colour of links from the default Blue and Purple. Accessibility has never crossed his mind.

His cry for help got me instantly thinking about what I could do to teach him web standards and accessibility in the shortest time possible. I've learnt my trade over months and years, not days and hours, and I'm still learning. I know that if my friend can get into this job, he could well do the same, but to get there, he has to learn enough to get through the interview. I gathered together a list of resources that I thought might give him a good enough grounding to get him through, and to get him started.

Offline Learning

Obviously, with such a short time frame in which to learn everything, reading through a pile of web books is out of the question. I did however, recommend that he read Designing with Web Standards by Jeffrey Zeldman. This is the first thing I would recommend anybody new to web design to read. I would recommend that they read this book before even reading my email recommending it.

Online Learning

For the last few years I've spent hours on end reading through the vast wealth of web design tutorials and articles from the many brilliant authors and designers out there. My friend doesn't have that kind of time, so I knocked up a list of sites that would get the message across:

A List Apart

A brilliant resource, but maybe a little advanced for his needs. However, it's well worth a look, even if he doesn't understand what's giong on.

456 Berea Street - Developing with Web Standards

Not something I'd read before, but seemed like a good source of information for beginners.

Layout-o-matic and List-o-matic

I recommended that after reading through the other resources, he make a layout using Layout-o-matic and then delve into the code. If he can work out what's going on and then change it, then things are going well. If he can then add navigation using List-o-matic, and work out what that's doing, we're on a flyer.

Dive into Accessibility

He might not have the 30 days required to complete this accessibility review, but this should give him a good grounding ni accessibility that will back up what he's learnt from DWWS and ALA.

I'll obviously also go through the points that might come up in an interview. Key phrases to use and to look out for in order to blag his way through.

So what would you tell my friend, other than what I already have, keeping in mind his short deadline? Have any of you found yourself in similar situations with friends or colleagues? Is it ethical to blag somebody into the industry by only teaching them enough to get through the interview? Let me know what you think.

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