...Demystify Web Standards
What are Web Standards?
The main Web standards are the coding languages used when creating Web pages. The most widely used ones are:
- The HyperText Markup Language (HTML),
- The eXtensible Hypertext Markup Language (XHTML) and,
- The Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) language.
XHTML is the XML compliant version of HTML. It has more strict rules as to what constitute valid and well-formed HTML code elements.
HTML and XHTML define the structure, i.e.: the organization of the information in a Web page. CSS controls the formatting, styles, look and feel of that information.
What is Web Standards Compliance?
Web standards compliance is the usage of Web languages as prescribed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), an international organization that develops Web standards.
See for yourself by scrolling down to the bottom of any page that I created (like this one) and click on the CSS or XHTML valid! link to check that the page conforms to the strict W3C standards.
Benefits of Standards Compliance
Writing standards compliant code has many short- and long-term benefits:
- Website longevity,
- Increased download speed,
- Wider browser compatibility (hence broader audience),
- Ease of site maintenance (hence low costs).
Website Longevity
Rigid Web standards, such as XHTML and CSS, are designed to work forever, as they will be supported for an almost unlimited period of time. Designing a website according to these standards will ensure the website backbone will not require a major facelift in any foreseeable future. This reduces the amount of maintenance work and costs caused by browser upgrades.
Of course, the onus is still on the users to use standards compliant browsers in order to make full use of the standards potential. The break down of many sites specifically designed for the non-compliant IE6 and viewed with the more-compliant IE7 is a good point in case.
Increased Loading Speed
Using XHTML for content and structure, and CSS for styling and formatting can reduce page size by a sizable amount compared to a poorly written, code broken, table and image driven design.
Wider Browser Compatibility
A Web standards compliant site has the same look and feel in all modern browsers, and thus is usable by the broadest of audience.
Easier Site Maintenance
When separating content and styling with XHTML and CSS, it is much easier to edit pages since structure/ content on one hand, and display instructions on the other, are located in separate and well identified files. Thus changing the content has no impact on the styling, and vice versa changing the styling has no impact on the content.
Loosely based on an original article by Yuri Filimonov, a usability consultant for MyNeatSite.
