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What are Web standards? & Why use them?

Certain web developers and web designers have a resistance towards using W3C web standards. Common arguments are its too difficult, It works anyway and the tools I use create invalid code.

It’s easy to react emotionally and build up a resistance towards learning something new and abandoning techniques you know and feel comfortable with. However, if you look at the situation logically you will see that there are many benefits to learning and using web standards. A few examples:

Improved Accessibility:
Firstly, accessibility to a wide audience is guaranteed. By carefully structuring and coding your website, we can ensure that people with visual disabilities can access the content on your site just as able-bodied people can. In practice, this means the code we use to write the pages of your website can be understood by screen-readers and modern web browsers alike, with no loss of context or message.

 

Compatibility with future web browsers
When you use defined standards and valid code you future-proof your documents by reducing the risk of future web browsers not being able to understand the code you have used.

 

Faster download and rendering of web pages
Less HTML results in smaller file sizes and quicker downloads. Modern web browsers render pages faster when they are in their standards mode than when they are in their backwards compatible mode.

 

Better accessibility
Semantic HTML, where structure is separated from presentation, makes it easier for screen readers and alternative browsing devices to interpret the content.

 

Better search engine rankings
The separation of content and presentation makes the content represent a larger part of the total file size. Combined with semantic markup this makes it easier for search engines like Google and Yahoo to index your page, and provide more accurate search results determined by the actual content on the page. Google and Yahoo both reward websites that are built using structural and semantic markup.

Related Reading: Search Engine Marketing

To give an example, this website is built using standards compliant XHTML and CSS. Viewing some of the referring page details (how people find this website), shows that many visitors come through Google and Yahoo.

 

Simpler adaptation
A semantically marked up document can be easily adapted to print and alternative browsing devices, like handheld computers and cellular phones, just by linking to a different CSS file. You can also make site-wide changes to presentation by editing a single file.

Web standards can save time and money for website creators, and provide a better experience to the website’s visitors. Besides, web standards are the future. If you’re not using web standards already, now is the time to start, or you will risk being left behind.

Related Reading: Read about why web accessibility is important!

Read more:

Validation

Validation is the process of controlling that a document obeys the rules of the language used in the document. You can compare it to checking a text for spelling and grammatical errors.

Validation is an important part of web development. Many errors that are hard to find are discovered during validation. An error can be as trivial as a typo, or as serious as an element or attribute being used in an invalid way.

Unfortunately, many people don’t validate their documents. Some people may not know about validation, others forget to validate, and there are those who intentionally avoid validating. This situation can largely be blamed on web browser vendors. Most web browsers attempt to interpret invalid HTML as best they can, and try to guess what the author’s intention is, instead of displaying an error message. This behavior has led to the sloppy markup that is very common today. The problem with that kind of markup is that it gives unpredictable results and relies on the error handling of web browsers.

There is no reason not to validate your HTML and CSS. On the contrary, there are only benefits.

 

Validate Your Websites Markup

Please include the full address of your web site including the http://

 

UntiedShoes* Commitment to Web Standards

UntiedShoes* recognises the responsibility to develop using web standards and will ensure your website fits with the criteria set by the W3C. If you have any questions or need more information please contact us.

Interesting Reading

UntiedShoes* also has an article on the importance of Web Site Accessibility. You can read the article here.


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Our approach combines our industry-leading understanding of user behavior with a commitment to meeting the business goals of our clients. Instead of selling one-size-fits-all solutions or lists of rules, we tailor all our services to the specific needs of each client.

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