The definition of an evangelist:
a person marked by evangelical enthusiasm for or support of any cause.
Source: Dictionary.com
The cause which I support for awhile now is none other than web standards. The ideal of creating websites in compliance to usability and accessibility.
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is only a guideline of best practices. I remember a W3C member coming down to deliver a topic on accessibility at the Malaysia Web Accessibility Conference and she reminded us about this.
When web standards caught wind in Malaysia, everyone had sworn to get their websites w3c compliant, even myself. If your website didn’t bear the w3c stamp, it’s like you were still a demon living in hell. Well, this is no longer the case. Oh, how much we’ve grown.
Today, I’m still a website design evangelist. And I preach good usability in website design. I take it as my responsibility to not only come up with visual aesthetics, but to create a visual flow in the website. If there’s too much content, which should be given priority?
If there’s too little content, how can design still help a client’s website look and feel professional? Design is a tool to be used by website designers to lead the visitors in the website. Never forget that.
As an evangelist, I’ve constantly done my best to educate all my friends and clients who want to discuss about a website. They would either listen or ignore what I’ve said but it’s understandable. Some prefer to have it their way, no matter what.
Are you an evangelist too?