Adaptive Web Design

I recently finished reading Aaron Gustafson’s Adaptive Web Design and really loved it. The book details the process behind making compelling web experiences that are adaptable to whatever device or browser the viewer happens to be using. Gustafson is a proponent of progressive enhancement, which could really just be called web standards. The idea is that by setting up the basics of the site so that they will be accessible to any browser you are free to cater the quality and features of the site to more modern browsers.

Adaptive Web Design covers some of the same ground as many of the popular A Book Apart titles, but has a more holistic goal. Gustafson explains new HTML5 elements but discusses how to leverage Javascript to make sure that they work everywhere. He spends significant time explaining the importance and uses of ARIA roles and microformats. He explains the basics of using Javascript to customize elements for different screen sizes. There are many more topics covered, and every one is explained well enough that I want to go back over projects and enhance them.

I would not hesitate to recommend this book to anyone. For anyone who wants to know what web standards exist today I would recommend the A Book Apart books for an introduction and inspiration and Adaptive Web Design for nuts and bolts.