Mobile sites, it’s 1999 all over again
Today I had deja vu.
I was optimizing a mobile site to look and function at its best - that of course, was greatly based upon what mobile device was viewing it. I had a browser sniffer to add/remove style sheets and javascript, and alter the markup for each device. It was very slick. But really, just a new way of saying,
“Netscape users click here!!!”
There has been a big debate between web designers and developers as to the future of front end dev. Just read the comments on Zeldman’s blog post (when you have a spare 10 to 12 hours… or so). Will the developers, with their CSS gradients, replace the designers? Or will software replace the developers and hand the magic wand over to the designers? I don’t know, but if mobile development is any indication as to what we’re in for (again), I’d say we’ve got at least another 20 years left in the workforce. ‘Cause you know them clients is gonna want that site looking HOT in IE Mobile 6!
In conclusion, designers, a simple “thank you” would suffice as we pass off the suckling world of standards based desktop browsers and oh-so-easy-even-your-grandma-can-do-it frameworks. In the same way that photography became “easy” (and also abused by grandma), there will always remain high end professionals, like the kind you want to hire for your wedding.
As for me, I best be moving on. Blackberry just took a crap all over my layout.
