World Class Equine Website

World Class Equine Website

I redesigned and updated worldclassequine.com using the Hugo static site generator with the goal of minimizing the file size of the site and maximizing functionality and features with the added constraint of using zero JavaScript in the site. I decided to avoid JavaScript since it is a client side language and a site made without it contains inherently less security vulnerabilities and will typically run faster. I also believe that web development has shifted to overuse JavaScript and many sites use it unnecessarily.

I included several interactive features that would traditionally require JavaScript such as image sliders, search fields, and mobile friendly design. The image sliders only use HTML and CSS with the only constraint being the images must have a constant size. Search fields were achieved by using DuckDuckGo’s restrict results to a URL feature, this provides similar functionality to a true search field without needing the JavaScript. The less obvious downside of this technique is pages must be indexed by DuckDuckGo before they can be found, and this can take a few weeks. Mobile friendly design was achieved by using relative element sizing wherever possible. I would have preferred to collapse the main navigation bar into a hamburger menu when the screen is too small, but this is not possible without JavaScript.

In order to leverage the capabilities of Hugo, the site includes extensive use of templates and shortcodes. These streamline the site maintenance while keeping the speed and simplicity of the final pure HTML/CSS site. PHP was also used on the contact page to provide up-to-date closure times. Since PHP is a server-side language, I felt this was not a significant security vulnerability. Logos and background images were replaced with optimized SVGs to decrease file size and improve load times. The final site is only ~15 MB in size.