The Web Dogma was first conceived in 2003 as a set of usability best practices that transcended fashion and technology. Today, these guidelines are used by thousands of designers and studios the world over. But as we enter a new age where "responsive design" and "mobile first" have become the watchwords of a new generation, has the Web Dogma stood the test of time? The answer may surprise you!

1. The Web Dogma – 10 years later
Trancendental?
Time-tested?
Tarnished?
Trash?
Eric Reiss
Big Design
19 October 2013
Dallas, TX

3. The Hives - Sweden

4. (Texan)

7. But online, some fashions change…
“Links should be blue and underlined”
“Flash is 98% bad”
“Text should be no more than 10 lines”

8. Do design rules
stifle creativity?
You tell me....

12. My questions back in 2003:
Is fashion avoidable in a
design philosophy?
Does technology always
drive design?

14. dog·ma
noun
1 : a tenent or code of tenents

15. My concept
Create a set of best practices
that transcend both
technology and fashion

24. 1. Anything that exists only to
1.
satisfy the internal politics
of the site owner must be
eliminated.

40. Photo:
Lynn Boyden

41. SE

46. Ten years ago:
It was about fighting internal politics.
Today:
Same same.
Plus even more lawyers and sex.

47. 2. Anything that exists only to
1.
satisfy the ego of the
designer must be eliminated.

49. The Afterlife: http://heaven.internetarchaeology.org

51. Ten years ago:
It was about improving usability by
reducing the effects of designer ego.
Today:
Same same.
Plus even bigger egos.
And even more arrogance.

52. 3. Anything that is irrelevant
1.
within the context of the page
must be eliminated.

62. Ten years ago:
It was about feng shui.
Today:
Same same.
Plus eliminating dark patterns.

63. 4. Any feature or technique that
1.
reduces the visitor’s ability
to navigate freely must be
eliminated.

71. Ten years ago:
It was about navigation.
Today:
Same same.
Plus ergonomic and paywall issues.

72. 5. Any interactive object that
1.
forces the visitor to guess
its meaning must be
eliminated.

78. Ten years ago:
It was about eliminating guesswork.
Today:
Your guess is still as good as mine.

79. 6. No software, apart from the
1.
browser itself, must be
required to get the site to
work correctly.

82. Ten years ago:
It was about eliminating extra software
Today:
Less of a problem today, but still there.
The problem has moved to mobile, where
services require proprietary apps for nonresponsive sites.

83. 7. Content must be readable
1.
first, printable second,
downloadable third.

89. Ten years ago:
It was mainly about getting rid of PDFs.
Today:
Same same.
Adobe has more clout than I do.

90. 8. Usability must never be
1.
sacrificed for the sake of a
style guide.

98. 2009
2010
2012

100. Ten years ago:
It was about getting ad agencies to understand.
Today:
Smite them down, oh Lord.
Let the geeks inherit the earth!

101. 9. No visitor must be forced to
1.
register or surrender
personal data unless the site
owner is unable to provide a
service or complete a
transaction without it.

114. Ten years ago:
The marketers were gathering unnecessary
data.
Today:
Same same.
Plus inconvenience at the touch of a finger!

115. 10. Break any of these rules
1.
sooner than do anything
outright barbarous!

116. George Orwell
Author: Animal Farm, “1984”

117. Ten Sixty years ago:
George was damned smart.
Today:
George’s intellect is timeless.

118. Does the Web Dogma still work?
I leave that up to you to decide.

119. But one thing is beyond discussion:
If we do not demand better websites,
we will never get them.
Don’t just prevent bad things
from happening, you can
make wonderful things happen.

120. Thanks!

121. Eric Reiss can (usually) be found at:
The FatDUX Group ApS
Strandøre 15
2100 Copenhagen
Denmark
Office: (+45) 39 29 67 77
Mobil: (+45) 20 12 88 44
Twitter: @elreiss
info@fatdux.com
www.fatdux.com