Web 1.0
When I started my efforts in web design I was working with Web 1.0. We had content that we uploaded via an FTP to a static web page. The process was tedious and the outcome could be a bit unpredictable, but it was something that you made from scratch. I am still a fan of the fully customizable nature of the Web 1.0 world.
Web 2.0 Tools
With the dawn of the Web 2.0 cloud-based design technologies, we might have lost a bit of that hands-on approach to design. However, I still embrace this new world of design and see several good things coming from it.
We are not all Designers
The thing I like the most about Web 2.0 is that it makes all of our content look relatively good. In the Web 1.0 days, it was not uncommon to see a pink page with white letters. Or a forest-green background with dark grey letters. My point is that you can’t read text when it is displayed this way but in Web 1.0 those poor decisions are all too easy to make. I realize that if you try you can still produce these outcomes with our new Web 2.0 design tools, but there is a default setting on most platforms that already looks clean and sleek so there is not much motivation to go in and tweak the options.
Power to the People
Web 2.0 has opened the floodgates and allowed nearly anyone interested to create content for the web. This obviously created several problems with validity and security. However, it also liberates the masses and allows the world’s unheard voices to have a space to share their perspective.
My Favorite Web 2.0
At this point in time, as a Learning and Development Specialist who prefers to work in eLearning design; I would have to say that the new Articulate 360 suite is my favorite bit of cloud-based authoring software.
Specifically, Articulate Rise is touted for effortless responsive authoring. With Rise, a designer quickly ends up with a learning artifact that is both user-friendly and has a modern feel. If a designer wanted to create a similar artifact with traditional on-premise software it would take hours and hours of painful labor.
Rise does have its limitations, but for rapid development, I am willing to work within those confines as a trade-off for the ease of development and spectacular outcomes.
Author
David Kolmer is a Learning and Development Specialist who focuses on curriculum development and eLearning authoring.
Improvement Dave 