I came across an interesting article yesterday on Read/Write called “The Web Is Broken, But Don’t Blame Apps”. The basic premise was that the proliferation of apps is not to blame.  Instead the problem lies with web developers who need to step their game up.

For me, there were three main takeaways from the article:

  • Mobile matters. Google wants to steer users to the best websites and being “mobile-optimized” is a key factor.
  • Speed matters. 25% of users abandon a web page if its load time is more than four seconds.
  • Web developers need appropriate training. There is a low barrier  to entry for would-be developers and often they have no solid foundation in programming. “A lot of Web developers today are completely ignorant of the protocol that is the basis for their job. A core understanding of HTTP should be a base requirement for working in this business.”

I agree with most of the points in this article.  While I will leave the “web” vs. “apps” debate for another time, we do need to step our game up, especially in higher ed. As the article states: “we need Web developers to take their jobs seriously and invest the time to make Web performance a priority.”