Corgi-type Certification for Web Developers?
You know how builders, electricians, and plumbers all need to be registered with regulatory bodies these days? The web development community needs a regulatory body just like that. I know that web development businesses can get ISO9001 certification, but there's not enough regulation when it comes to selling websites, and it seems that literally everyone is a webdesigner these days. Not convinced? go down your local and ask how many people are web-designers, and the majority of people there will put their hands up - it's as fashionable as DJing.
I know there's the w3c, but they hardly have any punch when it comes to regulation, do they? Sure, they're OK for putting out recommendations, but what we really need is a regulator that not only sets guidelines to how things on the web should be written, but actually checks they are. What would happen if a developer fails to meet regulations? The work would have to be redone, and be rechecked until it meets all the regulations. If a company were constantly failing to meet expectations, they could have their accreditation revoked, and they would lose business, much in the same way that cowboy builders get named and shamed. Simply hoping developers will run their site through the W3C validator, and acting upon the results simply isn't enough.
There are a thousand reasons why regulation would be a good thing - cleaner code, smarter developers, increased usability, increased consumer confidence, increased client confidence would all come from regulated developers - plus, you'd be able to shut that impossibly annoying guy up in the pub who thinks he's a web designer if you had an industry accreditation.
It's time web development was taken seriously as a profession - we need complete transparency when it comes to development, which means developers being more open to criticism, open to learning, and ultimately striving for perfection. Not possible, you say? Well then, you might just be one of the developers that needs to change.
Note: this is an open invitation to tell me about all the crappy bits of code found on this site - think I suck? Tell me about it! I'm more than happy to learn from my mistakes.
- 22nd September, 2006
- The Internet, Geekery, Thoughts, and Usability.
Comments about 'Corgi-type Certification for Web Developers?'
There are currently no comments on this post - why not add one?