March 17, 2007 On Responsible Web Development 
Andy Rutledge wrote about a recent encounter with the Federal Reserve's Web developers group. As I read his recap of trying to work with those "interested in window dressing and getting to play with cool Web 2.0 toys rather than serving Americans responsibly" I couldn't help noting how many times that word came up: responsibility.
When your web site launches, or re-launches, and you've spent time, money and energy on your project, the most important features are likely the ones you can't see. These days we tend to look for people to staff our projects that hype the latest flashy technologies and agree to push to rush something out the door. We blow our budgets on that flashy front end and quick turnaround without dedicating solid thinking and effort to the underlying architecture. It might take six months to a year to build your dream home, but you wouldn't forsake a solid foundation, plumbing and electricity to focus on all those gables on your roof and the color of your siding.
And even if you were inclined to, your local government wouldn't let you. The homebuilding industry is subject to inspections and approvals throughout the process (which is part of the reason it takes so long). We in web development have no governing board. We have guidelines and specifications from the W3C and we have communities, authors and leaders advocating best practices. It's up to us to be responsible enough to adhere to them.
It's important that you look not only for the smartest developer and flashiest portfolio when you seek a partner for your web site project, but that you also assess their sense of responsibility for their work and your web site's foundation. A developer who follows best practices and values a solid foundation before fancy add-ons and the latest gizmos is going to deliver real value to you with a site that is extensible -- it can grow and evolve over time -- and maintainable; If you want to build an addition on your house, you shouldn't have to rebuild sections of your current foundation.
