What is progressive enhancement?
Understanding Progressive Enhancement
Progressive Enhancement is a web design strategy that focuses on building a basic, functional experience first, and then adding more advanced features for browsers and devices that support them. This ensures accessibility, usability, and broader compatibility.
- 1
Start with content: Ensure the basic information is available using plain HTML so that all users, regardless of browser or device, can access it.
- 2
Add style with CSS: Enhance the presentation with CSS for users with modern browsers, without breaking functionality for others.
- 3
Layer interactivity with JavaScript: Introduce advanced features or behaviors through JavaScript, but the site should still function if scripts fail or are disabled.
- 4
Graceful fallback: Provide alternative experiences so that older browsers or assistive technologies can still use the site effectively.
In short: Progressive Enhancement ensures that your website works for everyone at a basic level and gets better for users with modern browsers and devices.