In an article entitled "Visual vs. Structural," Tommy Olsson compares the two most typical - and often competing - web design approaches: visual design and structural design. The balanced and well-written article makes the point that while there are often no major differences in the code produced from one design approach or another, using a structural approach can result in more accessible sites. While I hesitate to use such loaded words as "better," I definitely agree that structural design can contribute to a product that is more scalable, easier to maintain, and more accessible. (I say this from the perspective of someone who has employed both approaches at one time or another.) And remember, "accessibility" doesn't just mean "blind people." As the web moves away from being confined to the desktop computer, accessibility is as much about accommodating mobile technologies as it is about making sure content is available to disabled users.








1. Design from a structural viewpoint can also allow for a more search engine friendly website. Approaching the design from that point allows you to layout the navigation and focus on making sure that people, search engine spiders, and mobile devices can easily access files through the site. The ease of access throughout the website is what search engine spiders want to see, so not only will you be providing towards disabled people and mobility, you will be helping your own site out in terms of traffic potential.
Thanks,
Brad Henry
http://www.seoslap.com
Posted at 9:11PM on Oct 24th 2006 by Brad Henry