The Demise of the Well-Structured Document

In a recent conversation with a co-worker, I once again found myself bemoaning the prevalence of Adobe Dreamweaver in the creation of Web pages. The problem, of course, is not the tool, but how the tool is being used.

HTML, by design, combines structure with meaning. Ideally, its meaning dictates its structure. The truth is HTML by itself is not a presentational format. The World Wide Web, however, has grown into a dynamic, visually rich medium. This growth has driven the development of Web applications, prompting a shift in thinking about Web sites from "What does it say?" to "What does it do?"

The evolution of HTML as the structural component of Web applications is not, in itself, troubling. Of real concern should be the decline of HTML as a semantic language. After all, HTML is still THE language for creating documents for the Web. Even if that document is delivered by the latest, greatest "Web 2.0" application, it will most likely be delivered as HTML. More importantly, it will most likely be delivered to, and read by a person. For a person, meaning is important, and Web designers should keep that in mind when they create for the Web.