A lot has been said on the need to gracefully degrade a website that may not have javascript enabled on the browser.

Now, just like any software that will have system requirements why do we need to attempt to please everybody when indeed one solution can effortlessly appeal to the vast majority?

I gave a lot of thought to ajax based web pages and choose to implement ajax on the product page of Just Alternative power at www.justalternativepower.com/products.php.

Works well with javascript enabled browsers but don't work on browsers with javascript turned off.

My point now is this, anyone that turns javascript off knows what he/she is doing and as such if the need arises he/she can turn it on.

So, why not display a notice on the page that requires javascript to work well rather than trying to please everyone, a task that really don't make sense in a lot of situations?

Afam,

True that probably 90% (give or take) of web apps out there use javascript in some shape, form or fashion and that probably 90% (give or take) of users out there have javascript enabled by default (and probably a good number of that 90% are unaware that they can disable javascript in the first place). Having said that, there is that "silent minority" who for example use screenreaders to read web pages and these don't interprete javascript. Also, if your cell phone/PDA is like mine, you can't get your device to display the "auto complete" portions of textboxes. So for those people, you have to degrade gracefully. Either that or offer an alternative site, though I would go with the former if and where possible.

Of course, it all boils down to your target audience. One thing to note though: If you are working for the US govt or even the UK govt I blv or some large corporation in any of these countries, you could stand the chance of being sued by people who can't access your site's full features. In the US for example, I blv Bank of America was sued once.

In conclusion, even if 100% of your users don't turn off javascript, it is still good, as a matter of courtesy, to at the very least inform them via "noscript" tags that hey, they might want to turn on javascript to enjoy the site fully. I would even go as far as listing some of those benefits as a form of enticement.

Make sense?

@yawa-ti-de,

Thanks for those honest comments.

For now, I will display a notice for visitors to turn on javascript on their browsers if they are really turned off.

As a business man I have realized that one must choose his customers just as companies choose their employees, you cannot be everything to everyone.

Many thanks for your time.

As a business man I have realized that one must choose his customers just as companies choose their employees, you cannot be everything to everyone.

Very true, hence my "target audience" comment above

Nice job with the site by the way. This is what ajax is all about - functionality and not necessarily for the eye candy factor.