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<h1 id="a-reality-where-css-and-javascript-dont-exist">A Reality Where CSS and JavaScript Don’t Exist</h1>
<p>2021-11-03</p>
<p><em>This is my personal opinion. Please leave your pitchforks at the door…</em></p>
<p>I love CSS. I can spend hours deep diving into a website’s CSS system and never find myself getting bored. It’s pretty amazing to see the problems other designers are able to solve with just a little bit of custom styling and determination.</p>
<p>I like JavaScript. It serves it’s purpose and makes complex functionality on the web easier to wrangle in and understand.</p>
<p><em>But I think both should have never come into existence</em>.</p>
<h3 id="heresey">Heresey!</h3>
<p>I know, I know - this website itself uses a little, teeny-tiny amount of CSS. I am indeed a hypocrite - but did I ever claim that I <em>practice</em> what I preach? At least this personal website is JavaScript-free… (apart from a handful of CodePen examples embedded in some of the tutorials).</p>
<h3 id="moving-on">Moving On…</h3>
<p>I’m not a complete idiot. I realize that the web has evolved significantly over the years, and to propose that it should have remained stagnant with it’s original concept of “paged documents” is foolish. But that <em>is</em> what I’m suggesting - at least, partially.</p>
<h3 id="consistent-boring">Consistent & Boring</h3>
<p>Out there in the multiverse is a reality where the web is a complete borefest. Information is the only driving factor to visit a “web page” and PWAs have never come to exist. Custom styling, fancy interactive animations and single-page functionality isn’t even something that can be implemented. The web is just a system of HTML/plaintext documents sharing information and data. Users browse the web in quick bursts to satisfy their queries or read something interesting. Then, they return to <em>real life</em>.</p>
<p>My goodness what a <em>beautiful</em> reality that would be. Consistent, boring and wonderful.</p>
<h3 id="wait---arent-you-a-designer">“Wait - Aren’t You a Designer?”</h3>
<p>Yes - and again more hypocrisy. My livelihood depends on software requiring custom UIs and properly audited UX flows. By suggesting this change I am throwing myself under the bus and putting myself out of work. All my experience would become worthless and the world of software <em>design</em> would cease to exist.</p>
<p><strong>I would be okay with that</strong>. If it meant the web as a whole was a better place - so be it.</p>
<h3 id="a-look-at-the-new-world">A Look at the “New World”</h3>
<p>Sometimes it is easier to visualize a concept instead of just discussing it. Below you can find an example of a “converted” website[^1] showcasing how sites would look and feel in this design-less reality:</p>
<ul>
<li>Wealthsimple: <a href="https://www.wealthsimple.com/en-ca/">Current Website</a> / <a href="/etc/html-only/wealthsimple/">New Version</a></li>
</ul>
<p>As you can see, all the <em>fluff</em> has been removed from the existing design and only the content remains. No scroll-jacking or extra JavaScript libraries are downloaded. Users can easily skim through all the content and screen readers won’t struggle through any custom elements. It also loads incredibly fast.</p>
<p>Of course, to our[^2] eyes, this design might look ugly or seem as though the site’s CSS failed to load - but in a reality where this is the standard, it is beautifully minimal. Either way, I find that this was at least a fun thought experiment and hopefully leaves you thinking about how the web <em>could have been</em> as well.</p>
<p>Now, back to designing UIs for the web…</p>
<h2 id="refs">Refs</h2>
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<li>Selected site based on my own personal preference</li>
<li>Referring to current users of the web</li>
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