Ask HN: Tiny, accessible Web design as business model

1 point

10 years ago

Background (skippable): I am a web developer currently working as a contractor building brochure-like websites for lawyer companies mostly. The clients insist on modern looks with animations and interactivity all within a 2 week deadline and not-so-huge budget, which usually ends up in inacccessible, bloated sites. During my 2 years working professionally in the field I was your typical herd coder, following the cool kids, doing awesome modern Web stuff. Only recently (mostly due to reading HN discussions and opinionated articles like http://idlewords.com/talks/website_obesity.htm) have I started feeling bad writing these kinds of bloated experiences.

Idea: The idea I have had for a while isn't terribly novel (though it might be in this JS-heavy age): run a business modeled upon the notion of minimalistic, tiny and highly accessible websites coded using mostly safe features or progressive enhancement. The goal would be to make them still look good enough visually with the limited resources (maybe a dedicated designer would join me as a partner later).

Draft: I have created a quick draft of my thoughts and technical goals I would like to comply to with the code. You can view the manifesto here: http://muon.pl/manifesto.html and goals here: http://muon.pl/goals.html.

Doubts: As every human being who comes up with something I'm having some doubts which I would love to hear smart HN people's opinion on: 1) What would be my potential client base? I'm thinking brochure company websites or personal websites. 2) Would companies even consider having this kind of an 'old-school' website? Some of them are still living the Web 2.0 fairytale. 3) Would people pay for removing features? This seems tough as it requires some understanding about user experience and brand building. 4) How to find clients? Pretty stupid question, I know, but it's hard stuff for an introvert dev.

Much obliged for any opinions or suggestions.