Magic Web Fairies

First a theory….

if you are a Web developer (and by this I mean mid to senior level front end developer with perhaps a dash of scripting in your pocket) and you are good at your job, you have probably experienced the phenomenon that I lovingly term “Magic Web Fairies.” OK… I can tell you’re not feeling it – especially you guys that are not bonding with the implied glitter and wings aspect. Stick with me for a bit.

Consider – you have been given a project or a specific task (code, graphics, UI design, IA – anything Web related). It’s not rocket science, it’s not new, you’ve been doing this for years. You give the typical projection of how long it will take while padding appropriately for the well known (to you) chaos that could pop up on any given day (oh no! the servers are all down!). You then go about completing the task/project – you probably come in a bit early. Maybe you can in right on time but it was just a bit better than expectations. Everyone’s happy.

Be Afraid! You are on the verge of stepping into Fairy Land!

Next task comes – same cycle. Repeat ad nauseum. Suddenly you’re surrounding environment begins to mysteriously change. First, you start to get push back on due dates. “Well you did it *last* time in 2 weeks.” (uh this time you’re asking for 3 extra things that you didn’t ask for last time.) Or perhaps “well this is OK but wouldn’t it be better if you did this instead?” (no it wouldn’t, that breaks standards/accessibility/usability/all manner of rational thought etc.)

Add to that, after a time the Web site you’ve worked so hard on has become so commonplace that every one thinks it’s like the coke machine. It’s just there when they need it – and magically always full and functioning. They know (in theory) there’s some guy that comes and does something to the coke machine but don’t want to be bothered with the details (like what a pain in the ass it is to drag up enough soda to take care of an entire floor’s caffeine addiction etc.)

Suddenly you realize that you’re like the “coke guy” only you’re the “Web guy” (or girl). You’re just kinda there. No one knows what the hell you do. They may even ask you “and what is it you do here?” (The exception is that when something goes wrong with the Web site everyone will suddenly recover from their amnesia and remember that you are the person to send irate emails.)

What’s happened? You have become invisible. When someone in management wants a change all they know it that it just happens. You have become the Magic Web Fairy.

The illusion has somehow been created that the Web is easy. Part of the reason this illusion becomes so pervasive is that it’s not entirely wrong. Many aspects of building and maintaining Web sites are easy in and of themselves. It’s the complexities of the “big picture” that is the reason why the Web takes work and we get paid to do this. (I first misspelled paid as pain. Nice Freudian slip via the fingers.)

Sure, I could add a new navigation link. That task itself is easy. The time it takes to do it rates in the seconds. But the bigger questions take time and thought. Should we even add a link at the level or position suggested or does it really go somewhere else? Will it make the user experience better or more chaotic? What if it doesn’t have any effect at all and is scanned over? Is there something else we should now remove to ensure clear navigation paths? Is there real content behind this link that doesn’t suck? What is the priority of that content to the company? Even more important, what is the priority of that content to the user? Is the link worded appropriately? If a graphic, is it the right image and text, in the right place, in the best format?

I could go on with this list but I’ll stop now. You know the drill. Web people do this every day for everything little thing we do. But very few people in our companies know what the hell we’re talking about much less why we’re making such a fuss. But, at least, we know at the end of the day that we make the Web just a bit less The Suck by asking these questions and doing the closest we can to the best thing on our Web sites.

So, Magic Web Fairy Land is where I spend my days. I didn’t plan to come to this place and I’m certainly not setting up camp here. But the glitter is nice even if only I see it.