There's no doubt about it: Apple's web site is easily among the best in the industry. It's got a clean look and feel, all the pages are logically organized, URLs are human-readable and easily guessed (e.g. http://www.apple.com/powerbook/, http://www.apple.com/support/, etc.), and occasionally it even tosses us Mac-obsessives a bone by revealing upcoming product specs in the middle of the night. But by now you've surely heard the widely-circulated reports that web standards gurus Jeff Zeldman of Happy Cog Studios and Stopdesign's Doug Bowman have both been tapped by Apple to work on an overhaul of Apple.com, and chances are, you've spent at least a few idle moments pondering just what the new site might turn out to be like... and worrying that things can only get worse.

Well, yes and no, which we'll get to in a second-- but first, let us relieve your minds of the concern that Apple.com might devolve into something like this crap if placed into the hands of outsiders: first of all, while we're not personally well-acquainted with their work, we've been assured by viewers in all corners of the earth that Zeldman and Bowman really are wonders at design, and (obviously, since they're wonders at design) they're Mac fans-- so anything they slap together as Apple's new face on the 'net is likely to be suitably representative of the company's commitment to design, attention to detail, and ease of use, and thus would turn out to be pretty darn special. (We also hear that they fry up a mean grilled cheese.)

But even if you still don't buy that, Doug Bowman has since posted clarification that while he and Zeldman are indeed going to collaborate with Apple on the company's web site, "to clear up some confusion and speculation, this does not imply a visual redesign is in the works." Meanwhile, Zeldman has amended his announcement (which originally stated that he and Bowman would "collaborate on a makeover of the company's well-known site") to clarify that they would "assist in bringing the benefits of standards compliance and forward compatibility to the company's well-known, much-admired site." Note the removal of the word "makeover"-- and the addition of "much-admired," by which we infer that Zeldman received about a zillion email messages from panicked Mac fans worried that their beloved site might get turned into something ugly and nonintuitive (albeit standards-compliant).

So there you have it: if there is going to be a visual overhaul of Apple.com, more than likely it'll be Apple who throws it together, and Zeldman and Bowman are just going to be lending a hand with standards-compliance planning. However, AtAT sources insist that wasn't always the plan; originally Apple did commission a full site redesign by Z and B, urging them to "think different" about how Apple should present itself on the 'net. As it turns out, however, the duo's first prototype didn't go over too well with Apple higher-ups, who felt that it was a good, solid design, but simply didn't mesh with how Apple intended to represent itself to its existing and potential customers. Specifically, Apple felt that it was Flash-heavy and relied too much on "interacting personas" to convey product information, the bulk of which they felt was lost in the delivery. Interestingly enough, you can actually test out the proposed redesign yourself, which is still available here. Hurry, before it gets pulled down...