Developing a new or redesigning an existing website is a purposeful task to achieve the required results for each client. There are many considerations and standards that must be met to be successful. Some of these standards are clear cut i.e. creating valid code that will pass W3C testing for both XHTML and CSS. Others are not quite so simple but probably more important for example search engines.
To have a website is one thing. We all know that it is relatively simple to get something online and indeed many hobbyist develop a passion for doing so and become, overnight, another website designer. But having a little knowledge is dangerous. The internet offers massive opportunity but for most it results in disappointment.
With over three web pages for every living person on the planet competition is fierce.
Website development standards begins with cross platform compatibility. Every Internet browser is different Internet Explorer is dominant for Windows users whilst Safari is dominant for Mac users. However, there approximately 20 others such as Firefox, AOL and Opera to name but a few.
The Worldwide Web Consortium (w3c) was conceived to create standards for both Internet browser vendors and website designers. The idea is simple if both browser vendors and website designers conformed to a single standard the the end user experience would be consistent. The standards also accommodate the end users underlying technology i.e. personal computers running Windows, Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7 for example.
Importantly validation also means that the end user can modify their browser settings i.e. to use a larger font size to make the text easier to read etc.
The w3c created two validation tools. The mark up validator (html website code) and Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) checker. To demonstrate this you can check the validator for this page:
Whilst there you can check any website, including your own, by replacing this web pages URL with another.
Urban myth – Validation means that Google and other search engines rank valid pages higher than those who do not. Not true! Search engine attention is only focused on content.
So why bother with validation?
Whilst search engines do not directly check for validation it can still impact your website page rank and visibility in search results indirectly. If your website does not validate browsers may not be able to interpret your design accurately. As previously stated the w3c set the standards so that there is consistency across all platforms.
Importantly mobile Internet access is now common and is a growth market. The website development standards ensures that this platform is no different to any other. Even Google admits that XHTML (Div controlled) and CSS websites are going to look better on mobile devices than those that are created using tables. Watch the Q & A with Adam Lasnik video.The reference is about 40 minutes in but the entire video is worth watching.
The consequence of not rendering correctly may result in the end user “bouncing” away from your page to go find another one. This “bounce” rate is measured. A high a bounce rate inductees poor quality content that did not meet the expectations of the end user. As a consequence the page / website will lose good post ions in searches over time.
Therefore if you are looking for a new or to update an existing website it is advisable to ensure that it validates to current standards.
On a final note the question ay crop up why have XHTML and CSS is it not double the work? No not really but it is an extra dimension and as per the video CSS can be awkward. But the XHTML is pretty much the same as HTML in that all the data and structural elements are created within the file. CSS is an external file which controls how it looks. Traditionally such things were managed in a table which dictated this table will be nn wide by nn high. This is replaced by divisions <div> and the CSS file dictates the divisions styling. The advantage in CSS is flexibility, for example, everything can be relative to the available space of the viewers screen and is pretty much changeable by the viewer themselves.