Is it recommended to use javascript to build layouts?

Question

I'm creating a blog, but I need box-shadows for my boxes, so I'm asking the following.

Is it good to add shadows via a)images/css or b)javascript?

I've heard that lot of people don't have javascript enabled while browsing, so is there this a problem? It would be easier and simpler to create these shadows with javascript than adding a million divs and positioning them.

EDIT: I found this page: http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_stats.asp and it says that almoset every user has js enabled.

Answer 1

Use CSS box-shadow for nice, up-to-date browsers: http://css-tricks.com/snippets/css/css-box-shadow/ (requires no extra markup)

And for most everyone else, serve up your js solution.

Answer 2

You should do it the easiest way for you and allow the page to degrade gracefully for those without JS (If you think you need to consider them, as today, I don't see any point in building none JS sites or building sites for no-js users).

Answer 3

You could use JavaScript for your layout, but the general principal that you should keep in mind is that your HTML should be semantic: the elements on the page should have a meaning; it should project a structure that goes beyond the design of the page (although that structure can certainly be used as an indcator for the design aspects as well).

When this principal is applied, using JavaScript can help with providing the style you wish to project given the semantic meaning of the page.

Also, you should check your server logs (your hosting provider should have some sort of analytics tool/report available) which should tell you what browsers and versions are being used to visit your site. With that information, you can get a good feel for the people that you are currently reaching.

If you are using some sort of analytics package (e.g. Google Analytics) then you can possibly see the delta between two periods of time for the new visitors to your site as well, and try to gauge the capability of the browsers that new users will be using when they visit your site.

A few things to consider when using JavaScript to manipulate the DOM on the front end:

• If you are using JavaScript to manipulate a good deal of the content, it's going to be a client-side process, and that can slow down the rendering of your page. You might want to consider a theme/template for your blog/cms which gives you the styling that you want and is rendered through CSS on the server-side.

• Search engines do not execute your JavaScript. Because of this, you want to avoid manipulating the indexable content at all costs. You want your content to be embedded in the HTML as it is sent from the server. Using AJAX or other JavaScript to manipulate certain things is fine, but when it comes to your content, unless you are stylizing it, do not use JavaScript to manipulate it