Recently Paul Boag showed dissatisfaction at the fact that most ecommerce sites don't work without Javascript, which stand against progress enhancement. Coincidentally, I am just now in the middle of working on a Javascript library that aims to make using CSS3 features and writing cross-browser CSS easier. So this got me thinking...
I love Javascript! I won't make any secret of this. I also love writing ajaxy web applications. Although I allow that there's value to making your site work without Javascript, to me, at least, it bares a lower priority. Of course, as is always the case, the answer depends very much on your target audience. Google Docs, for example, is more of a software tool than a web site, and so it wouldn't really make sense to make it work without Javascript - the result probably wouldn't be very useful anyway, because the essence of Google Docs, is the UI.
However, to consider the applicability of my Javascript library, I must consider whether it is acceptable to web designers that their design requires their users to have Javascript enabled.
And so, I resolved to survey how some of the major web sites and web applications look like and work like with Javascript disabled, so as to get a sense of what is the accepted norm on the web today.
The Contenders
I want to survey really popular sites. I also want to survey some content-centric sites, as well as some utility-type web-apps. The list has a Web 2.0 slant to it, but also include some old timers. Without further ado, the list is:
- The New York Times
- Digg.com
- Facebook
- Twitter
- Stack Overflow
- Google Search
- CNN
- Amazon
- Ebay
- BoagWorld
- Google Maps
- Google Docs
- Google Mail
- Remember The Milk
- Flickr
- Picasa Web
- YouTube
- Wordpress
- GitHub
Scoring System
- Can users navigate the site? (1 point)
- Can users read/view the content? (1 point)
- Is the site free of broken visual elements? (1 point)
- Can users perform the key tasks of the site? (1 point)
- Is the site free of broken input elements? (1 point)
- If things are broken, are users made aware of it? (1 point)
The New York Times
![Times Screenshot Times Screenshot](http://lh3.ggpht.com/_1m4jxPGXQAo/S5iV7EyeHoI/AAAAAAAAOS8/pAd6P0ZlC34/s400/Screen%20shot%202010-03-11%20at%202.03.53%20AM.jpg)
- Can users navigate the site? YES
- Can users read/view the content? YES
- Is the site free of broken visual elements? NO
- Can users perform the key tasks of the site? YES
- Is the site free of broken input elements? NO(video section)
- If things are broken, are users made aware of it? NO(video section)
Digg
![Digg Screenshot Digg Screenshot](http://lh6.ggpht.com/_1m4jxPGXQAo/S5iUrbQkxbI/AAAAAAAAOSI/blqjKTLbhh0/s400/Screen%20shot%202010-03-11%20at%201.58.38%20AM.jpg)
- Can users navigate the site? YES
- Can users read/view the content? YES
- Is the site free of broken visual elements? NO
- Can users perform the key tasks of the site? NO
- Is the site free of broken input elements? NO(digg button broken)
- If things are broken, are users made aware of it? NO
Facebook
![Facebook Screenshot Facebook Screenshot](http://lh3.ggpht.com/_1m4jxPGXQAo/S5iXFHCGluI/AAAAAAAAOTc/u1zJ63oyA-8/s400/Screen%20shot%202010-03-11%20at%202.07.00%20AM.jpg)
- Can users navigate the site? YES
- Can users read/view the content? YES
- Is the site free of broken visual elements? YES
- Can users perform the key tasks of the site? NO(can't update status)
- Is the site free of broken input elements? NO
- If things are broken, are users made aware of it? NO
Facebook's score: 3/6.
Twitter
![Twitter Screenshot Twitter Screenshot](http://lh6.ggpht.com/_1m4jxPGXQAo/S5ibEQUQ5QI/AAAAAAAAOTk/pRYQpeAabUs/s400/Screen%20shot%202010-03-11%20at%202.25.41%20AM.jpg)
Twitter looks great without Javascript, but guess what? You cannot tweet! Bummer. You also can't edit some of the settings in your profile.
- Can users navigate the site? YES
- Can users read/view the content? YES
- Is the site free of broken visual elements? YES
- Can users perform the key tasks of the site? NO
- Is the site free of broken input elements? NO
- If things are broken, are users made aware of it? NO
Stack Overflow
![Stack Overflow Screenshot Stack Overflow Screenshot](http://lh4.ggpht.com/_1m4jxPGXQAo/S5ibUBgXzPI/AAAAAAAAOTo/mWxlZ-Mo5-g/s400/Screen%20shot%202010-03-11%20at%202.26.51%20AM.jpg)
- Can users navigate the site? YES
- Can users read/view the content? YES
- Is the site free of broken visual elements? YES
- Can users perform the key tasks of the site? YES
- Is the site free of broken input elements? NO
- If things are broken, are users made aware of it? YES
Google Search
![Google Screenshot Google Screenshot](http://lh5.ggpht.com/_1m4jxPGXQAo/S5idMm6mOUI/AAAAAAAAOTw/Keqz_8vXZ-A/s400/Screen%20shot%202010-03-11%20at%202.34.54%20AM.jpg)
- Can users navigate the site? YES
- Can users read/view the content? YES
- Is the site free of broken visual elements? NO
- Can users perform the key tasks of the site? YES
- Is the site free of broken input elements? YES
- If things are broken, are users made aware of it? NO
CNN
![CNN Screenshot CNN Screenshot](http://lh6.ggpht.com/_1m4jxPGXQAo/S5ieLrhX6kI/AAAAAAAAOT4/d1FGHWMiC7Q/s400/Screen%20shot%202010-03-11%20at%202.39.06%20AM.jpg)
![CNN Broken Video Screenshot CNN Broken Video Screenshot](http://lh3.ggpht.com/_1m4jxPGXQAo/S5ifKwo_0xI/AAAAAAAAOT8/1F2WZDTT1mU/s400/Screen%20shot%202010-03-11%20at%202.43.21%20AM.jpg)
- Can users navigate the site? YES
- Can users read/view the content? YES
- Is the site free of broken visual elements? NO
- Can users perform the key tasks of the site? YES
- Is the site free of broken input elements? NO
- If things are broken, are users made aware of it? NO
Amazon
![Amazon Screenshot Amazon Screenshot](http://lh4.ggpht.com/_1m4jxPGXQAo/S5ifnO0_urI/AAAAAAAAOUA/E3yXMK0iwqQ/s400/Screen%20shot%202010-03-11%20at%202.45.14%20AM.jpg)
- Can users navigate the site? YES
- Can users read/view the content? YES
- Is the site free of broken visual elements? YES
- Can users perform the key tasks of the site? YES
- Is the site free of broken input elements? YES
- If things are broken, are users made aware of it? N/A
Ebay
![Ebay Screenshot Ebay Screenshot](http://lh4.ggpht.com/_1m4jxPGXQAo/S5ihxR8mvjI/AAAAAAAAOUI/ujEt4ezIFZ4/s400/Screen%20shot%202010-03-11%20at%202.54.29%20AM.jpg)
- Can users navigate the site? YES
- Can users read/view the content? YES
- Is the site free of broken visual elements? YES
- Can users perform the key tasks of the site? YES
- Is the site free of broken input elements? YES
- If things are broken, are users made aware of it? N/A
Boagworld
![BoagWorld Screenshot BoagWorld Screenshot](http://lh3.ggpht.com/_1m4jxPGXQAo/S5iiRH5KOAI/AAAAAAAAOUQ/jpRNglRMLA0/s400/Screen%20shot%202010-03-11%20at%202.56.32%20AM.jpg)
- Can users navigate the site? YES
- Can users read/view the content? YES
- Is the site free of broken visual elements? YES
- Can users perform the key tasks of the site? YES
- Is the site free of broken input elements? YES
- If things are broken, are users made aware of it? N/A
Google Maps
![Google Maps Screenshot Google Maps Screenshot](http://lh4.ggpht.com/_1m4jxPGXQAo/S5ijj_JgaEI/AAAAAAAAOUY/4ed2KI52Dgo/s400/Screen%20shot%202010-03-11%20at%203.02.06%20AM.jpg)
- Can users navigate the site? YES
- Can users read/view the content? YES
- Is the site free of broken visual elements? YES
- Can users perform the key tasks of the site? NO
- Is the site free of broken input elements? YES
- If things are broken, are users made aware of it? N/A
Google Docs
![Google Docs Screenshot Google Docs Screenshot](http://lh3.ggpht.com/_1m4jxPGXQAo/S5ilUPqizpI/AAAAAAAAOUg/Brwo1WjgQaU/s400/Screen%20shot%202010-03-11%20at%203.09.20%20AM.jpg)
- Can users navigate the site? NO
- Can users read/view the content? NO
- Is the site free of broken visual elements? NO
- Can users perform the key tasks of the site? NO
- Is the site free of broken input elements? NO
- If things are broken, are users made aware of it? NO
Gmail
![Gmail Screenshot Gmail Screenshot](http://lh4.ggpht.com/_1m4jxPGXQAo/S5imxzAQlaI/AAAAAAAAOUo/yo7sJVokFLw/s400/Screen%20shot%202010-03-11%20at%203.15.52%20AM.jpg)
![Gmail Screenshot 2 Gmail Screenshot 2](http://lh5.ggpht.com/_1m4jxPGXQAo/S5inYl0ag6I/AAAAAAAAOUs/0fFqNBCyQaw/s400/Screen%20shot%202010-03-11%20at%203.17.51%20AM.jpg)
- Can users navigate the site? YES
- Can users read/view the content? YES
- Is the site free of broken visual elements? NO
- Can users perform the key tasks of the site? YES
- Is the site free of broken input elements? YES
- If things are broken, are users made aware of it? NO
Remember The Milk
![Milk Screenshot Milk Screenshot](http://lh3.ggpht.com/_1m4jxPGXQAo/S5ipJiwM1kI/AAAAAAAAOU0/sSoe8mVJvI4/s400/Screen%20shot%202010-03-11%20at%203.26.02%20AM.jpg)
- Can users navigate the site? NO
- Can users read/view the content? NO
- Is the site free of broken visual elements? YES
- Can users perform the key tasks of the site? NO
- Is the site free of broken input elements? YES
- If things are broken, are users made aware of it? YES
Flickr
![Flickr Screenshot Flickr Screenshot](http://lh5.ggpht.com/_1m4jxPGXQAo/S5ip0xAJQsI/AAAAAAAAOU4/FKCueIhrAeM/s400/Screen%20shot%202010-03-11%20at%203.28.54%20AM.jpg)
- Can users navigate the site? YES
- Can users read/view the content? YES
- Is the site free of broken visual elements? YES
- Can users perform the key tasks of the site? YES
- Is the site free of broken input elements? NO
- If things are broken, are users made aware of it? NO
Picasa Web
![Picasa Web Screenshot Picasa Web Screenshot](http://lh5.ggpht.com/_1m4jxPGXQAo/S5iqq92BeTI/AAAAAAAAOVA/3ExI8nEMYNI/s400/Screen%20shot%202010-03-11%20at%203.32.23%20AM.jpg)
- Can users navigate the site? NO
- Can users read/view the content? NO
- Is the site free of broken visual elements? NO
- Can users perform the key tasks of the site? NO
- Is the site free of broken input elements? NO
- If things are broken, are users made aware of it? YES
YouTube
![YouTube Screenshot YouTube Screenshot](http://lh5.ggpht.com/_1m4jxPGXQAo/S5iruOWcFAI/AAAAAAAAOVI/AZpMCoxM_Po/s400/Screen%20shot%202010-03-11%20at%203.36.59%20AM.jpg)
- Can users navigate the site? YES
- Can users read/view the content? NO
- Is the site free of broken visual elements? NO
- Can users perform the key tasks of the site? NO
- Is the site free of broken input elements? NO
- If things are broken, are users made aware of it? NO
WordPress
![Wordpress Screenshot Wordpress Screenshot](http://lh3.ggpht.com/_1m4jxPGXQAo/S5itCWPldHI/AAAAAAAAOVQ/lX2peaMRdM8/s400/Screen%20shot%202010-03-11%20at%203.42.36%20AM.jpg)
- Can users navigate the site? YES
- Can users read/view the content? YES
- Is the site free of broken visual elements? YES
- Can users perform the key tasks of the site? YES
- Is the site free of broken input elements? NO
- If things are broken, are users made aware of it? NO
GitHub
![GitHub Screenshot GitHub Screenshot](http://lh6.ggpht.com/_1m4jxPGXQAo/S5iuKLzxVtI/AAAAAAAAOVY/SAUEyX31kwo/s400/Screen%20shot%202010-03-11%20at%203.47.17%20AM.jpg)
- Can users navigate the site? YES
- Can users read/view the content? YES
- Is the site free of broken visual elements? YES
- Can users perform the key tasks of the site? YES
- Is the site free of broken input elements? NO
- If things are broken, are users made aware of it? NO