If you want redesign wikipedia's look or add a skin, here's
what I consider to be the basic requirements. Others may want to
add to or quibble with these, but I consider them important to
the point where I would not be likely to implement anything
that violates them:
- All output, both inside the article text and outside, must
be fully W3C-compliant HTML 4.0 for now, and XHTML 1.0 at some
point in the future.
- Markup should be as economical as possible for performance.
Within the article text itself:
- The text of the article must be rendered as actual text with
appropriate semantic labeling, so that it is readable on all
browsers, including text-only browsers like Lynx, speech
browsers for the blind, etc. The HTML code within the article
should be the same on all skins. No visual markup should be used.
- Style elements should be contained in an externally linked
stylesheet, using valid CSS (preferably mostly CSS 1, but CSS 2
where the effect can't be achieved otherwise). Styles should be
attached to elements within the article based on element classes
and unique IDs.
- JavaScript should not be used with the article text.
- Article text must not depend on any system-specific features
like non-standard symbol fonts.
- Article text should be in high-contrast colors that are not so
overly loud they induce eye strain, and serifed fonts are
preferred for readability.
Outside the article text (sidebars, etc.) things can be a bit more
relaxed:
- JavaScript can be used for "extra" functionality (like form
validations) as long as the site is still usable by those that
don't have JavaScript or have it turned off.
- Site should render reasonably on Netscape 4.X, Gecko-based
browsers (Mozilla, Netscape 7, Galeon...), KHTML-based browsers
(Konqueror, Safari...), MS Internet Explorer 4+, and Lynx.
It's OK if some non-vital features won't render on some
browsers, especially Netscape 4.X and Lynx, as long as users
of those browsers can still view and edit articles and otherwise
interact with the site normally.
- Text in sidebars, forms, etc., should be readable but doesn't
have to face the same constraints as article text: for example
louder colors and sans-serif fonts are fine.
--
Lee Daniel Crocker <lee(a)piclab.com> <http://www.piclab.com/lee/>
"All inventions or works of authorship original to me, herein and past,
are placed irrevocably in the public domain, and may be used or modified
for any purpose, without permission, attribution, or notification."--LDC