Should you design websites that require JavaScript in this day & age?

Question

It\'s fall of 2008, and I still hear developers say that you should not design a site that requires JavaScript.

I understand that you should develop sites that degra

Answer 1

JavaScript is great for extending the browser to do things like google maps. But it's a pointy instrument, so use it with care.

My bank web site uses JavaScript for basic navigation between pages. Sigh. As a result, it's not usable from my mobile device.

Make sure you're familiar with the Rule of Least Power when considering JavaScript:

When designing computer systems, one is often faced with a choice between using a more or less powerful language for publishing information, for expressing constraints, or for solving some problem. This finding explores tradeoffs relating the choice of language to reusability of information. The "Rule of Least Power" suggests choosing the least powerful language suitable for a given purpose.