At the end of October, web developer Harry Roberts wrote about the recent development of a website: "I always build static HTML files in my Dropbox public directory as people can have a quick look at it if I need to share it, plus I can test it on a variety of browsers on different devices." The person who the site was being built for had the URL and contacted Roberts, saying he was enjoying seeing the progress with each refresh.
Roberts hit upon the idea of doing such a build as a public event, taking a PSD to a working web page. Now dubbed the CSS Wizardry build-along, Roberts says the project is go and will take place tomorrow.
We asked Roberts about why he decided to do the live build. "I love a bit of a challenge! Plus, the idea of watching a live build appeals to me, and therefore I assumed it might appeal to others," he said. "I was concerned people would find me big-headed to assume they'd actually care how I work, but I'd be genuinely interested in seeing someone work live myself. So I thought that until that comes along, I might as well do a live build!"
We also wondered if the live build could help existing designers, but Roberts was modest in his build-along's impact from a practical standpoint, instead considering it more an interesting curiosity: "I'm not sure it's a case of help, but rather interest. Live coding always goes down well at conferences because it's about seeing people doing what we love, and how they do it. There's nothing more particular than a developer's methodologies, and so I think live insight into the process rather than the finished piece would be quite a novelty."
The live build is "most likely" to happen tomorrow. Keep track of goings-on with the build-along by following @csswizardry.
