Converting Hobo Web to HTML5

Last week I was handed the task of recreating a Hobo Web blog page using HTML 5 elements. Although Hobo are primarily an SEO company, they have already shown a great interest in HTML 5, having posted two brilliant articles in the last year, long before others had jumped on the bandwagon.

The reason I was allocated the job was because they had liked the job I had done in converting my own personal site from XHTML to HTML 5, how I documented it all and more recently having helped set up and run the HTML 5 Doctor.

My plan of action was simple, I was going to pull down a typical blog post, so I could see how the page was being created and what elements I was going to be dealing with. I would then pull together a wireframe, with the design work being done in the browser and then I would write a large document saying how I went about this process. Let it be noted that the crux of the post was based on the excellent article which had been created from the excellent Mr. Bruce Lawson.

If the truth be known, I actually found recreating the layout for Hobo a lot harder than I have for any of my other HTML 5 projects, I guess this was down to the sheer magnitude and the fact that their general page layout consists of three columns, all of which hold important information. Unlike other sites where you might have just one main section and two secondary content areas with trivial bits of information.

The project still has some work to be done on it, I’m still not that happy with a few of the element decisions that I’ve made and with the footer element changing just last week I’ll probably need to revise bits and pieces. The actual post still needs some work and I need to create the diagrams for the post but for all you lucky readers of this site I’m going to be giving you a sneak peak before it goes live to the masses. If you’re interested in seeing this journey then please visit the following link http://www.hobo-web.co.uk/html5.

Although I’m a keen advocator of HTML 5 and everything that it brings to the table, I have to be honest when I say that I’m not sure if we’re ready to go the full hog and create business sites using these new elements. We need to remember that browsers still do not fully understand the new elements that HTML 5 provides and lets not even start to list all of Internet Explorers lovely faults, but whats new there! However, don’t let this stop you experimenting, as you don’t want to be left behind when the revolution comes.