Five Principles for Building User-Centered Web Front-Ends
In a recent post, developer Colin Oakley lays out a concise set of standards for front-end work that keeps the end user firmly in focus. The guidance is straightforward, but it covers a broad range of engineering concerns—from markup choices to network conditions.
- Accessible — Rely on semantic HTML and meet at least the WCAG 2.1 AA standard, ensuring compatibility with assistive technologies (aligned with the DWP Accessibility Manual).
- Agnostic — Start with a mobile-first approach and support a wide variety of devices and user situations.
- Robust — Favor progressive enhancement so features degrade gracefully rather than breaking outright.
- Performant — Optimize code and assets for solid performance across diverse networks and hardware.
- Secure — Build services that guard user privacy via strict content security policies and defenses against standard OWASP threats.
