How to make the web better

Here's how you can make the web better: always set the best example you possibly can.

Innovation can't happen at every level of a project. Often, lots of basic decisions are made by looking at either a competitor or a role model and just copying what they do. So when you shove marketing copy into your title tag instead of describing the page, leave your email signup form as opt-out instead of opt-in, or skip compressing your images, imagine someone else pulling up your site and saying to their team, "Look at this site that we all love — they do it this way so we should too." Don't let yourself become ammo for someone else's argument to do things the wrong way. Make the web better by always setting an example, whether or not anyone is looking right now. Your decisions can have a larger ripple effect, make sure that the change you're affecting is in the right direction.

This was written as part of the #startyourshift project. Read more about it here.