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What are web standards?

Web standards are technologies, established by the W3C and other standards bodies, that are used to create and interpret web-based content. These technologies are designed to future-proof documents published on the Web and to make those documents accessible to as many as possible.

Structural languages

Presentation languages

Object Models

Scripting languages

This document focuses on XHTML 1.0 Strict for structure, CSS Level 1 and Level 2 for presentation, and ECMAScript 262 for scripting (not that there are a lot of scripting examples).

When a document is said to adhere to web standards, it means that the document, besides using the above technologies:

  • consists of valid XHTML
  • uses CSS instead of tables for layout
  • is properly structured and semantically marked up
  • works in any web browser

Note that “works in any web browser” does not mean “looks the same in every web browser”. Making a document look identical across browsers and platforms is next to impossible. Not even using only images will make a website look exactly the same everywhere. Documents that are published on the web will be accessed by a wide variety of browsing devices on several operating systems, with monitors of differing size and quality (or no monitor at all), by users who may have changed their browser’s default text size and other preferences. Accepting this will make your life a lot less frustrating. Anyone who creates websites needs to understand that there are technical prerequisites to consider, the same way as those who publish on paper or make movies or television have other prerequisites to consider.

Why use web standards?

Certain web developers and web designers have a resistance towards using web standards. Common arguments are It’s 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:

  • Simpler development and maintenance: Using more semantic and structured HTML makes it easier and quicker to understand code created by somebody else.
  • 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 will improve search engine rankings.
  • 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 is the future. If you’re not using web standards already, now is the time to start, or you will risk being left behind.

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