riri’s webpage

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i’ve changed my ways

estimated reading time: 4 - 5 min

new year new me, right haha? as you can see, i’ve backed down on multiple of my previous statements. in one of my previous blog posts i’ve shat on rss feed, but now my website has both rss feed and an atom feed. i’ve also criticized the mobile-first design and approach, calling it “glorified tablet app”, only to introduce the similar design language of my own site. so, why? answer is simple – accessibility. it is absolutely possible to create beautiful fucking site without seeming corporate and soulless, meanwhile still providing some degree of accessibility. i am not a professional, nor do i know how to build accessible web, but either way the new design should be more accessible and more easily navigable than the previous design, and its beautiful as ever.

this shift in thinking didn’t come overnight, as i tend to be stubborn and want to do things my way only. i’ll be honest—i had a very narrow and shallow view of what it means to have a personal website; what it means to give a big middle finger to the corporate web. i used to think that the aesthetics are the most important factor, and that i could throw everything else in the fucking trash. but that is where i was wrong! as i learned more about how people actually interact with websites—whether it’s with visual impairments, on mobile devices, or using assistive technologies—i realized that it’s about so much more than just a pretty layout. accessibility should be a priority, not a side note. and besides, i think this new layout is even more beautiful and more pretty than the previous one was! so, you totally can have them both, only if you try.

i haven’t tackled two things though: first is optimizing for slower internet connections. while the point isn’t to throw things back to the early 2000s, i realize now that it’s still important to consider how content loads for users in different environments. i’m not looking to sacrifice design for outdated practices, but i do want to make sure my site performs well across the board. the sad reality is that not insignificant amount of people still relies on dated dial-up, isdn or edge connections. and second is, i keep forgetting those goddamn fucking alt tags. i’m simply not used to including them. which is bad practice, i know, i know. but please don’t blame too much.

but overall, the website should now be much easier to navigate through and use on various screen resolutions, which increases accessibility. i’ve also included the “skip navigation” hidden button, which moves the screen to main area, skipping navigation buttons, and focusing on the main content itself.

all right this tackles the design choices, but what about feed readers?

it’s true, in one of my previous posts i’ve rejected the idea of rss feeds using quite a bit of colorful language. so why change now? and not only have i included an rss feed, but also a separate atom feed. well, i’ve come to realize that what i initially dismissed as outdated or unnecessary actually serves a purpose. rss and atom feeds are simple, efficient ways to keep users updated, especially in an era where content consumption habits are evolving. people don’t always want to visit a site just to see if there’s anything new. having an rss or atom feed allows them to stay in the loop without the extra hassle. and while originally this was my main issue with it, now i realize i was being a baby about it. i could very easily just include a small portion of the content and have a “read more” link, so traffic does end up hitting my website. which is what i ended up doing. this is a good compromise for me retaining traffic, while people who prefer feed readers can still use them. and get notified about new stuff.

in the age of push notifications, rotting your brain, there’s something nice about having a straightforward, no-frills way to deliver content. not to mention, feeds are a great tool for people who prefer more control over what they see. it’s one less layer of algorithms or tracking to worry about. although, it’s not like my website would ever have any fucking content algorithms. it’s a blog lol. but i get the potential appeal of feed readers. plus, if you want to follow multiple sites, it is kind of a hassle to keep revisiting a said site and see if there’s a new post. with feed readers, you can set it up, and forget about it. once a website you follow posts something, you get notified. it’s really that simple :)

i think what i’ve really come to understand is that embracing these tools isn’t about going back to the past, and using rusty, outdated, nostalgia-driven tech, it’s about acknowledging that some older methods still work—sometimes better than the newer, fancier alternatives. by adding both rss and atom, i’m giving users a choice in how they want to stay connected, and that’s something i can get behind. and honestly, isn’t that the very point of personal web?

so, in the end, it’s all about finding balance. i may have been stubborn in the past, but embracing change has allowed me to build something more inclusive and user-friendly. whether it's the design shift to a more accessible, mobile-optimized layout or bringing back the humble rss and atom feeds, i’ve learned that good design isn’t about sticking to one philosophy or rejecting what came before—it’s about adapting to the needs of the people visiting your site.


got more to say? email me: hi[at]riri[dot]my

posted on: 2025-01-28 05:20 PM