Website Standards Compliance
What are Web Standards?
Web Standards are a set of recommendations developed by the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) to make websites more accessible.
How many websites are Standards Compliant?
It is estimated less that than 20% of websites meet HTML and CSS standards. While this number is increasing slowly most developers still lack the knowledge, ability, or will to develop standards compliant websites for their clients.
Should I insist on Standards Compliance for my new website?
In our opinion, definitely! Many websites can function adequately while lacking compliance to HTML and CSS standards, however, there are many reasons why standards compliant websites are better for everyone. Some include:
- Improved user experience; Non-standard code can make it difficult or impossible for people using less common web-browsers or devices to access your website. If your website conforms to standards then your website is available to more Web users (many of whom are potentially your clients).
- Planning ahead; Conforming to standards means your website has been designed in an extensible manner, allowing for room to grow into the future. This can save you time and money when you come to upgrade your website.
- Faster loading pages; The compactness and clarity of standards-compliant code decreases the file size of Web pages resulting in pages that load faster. Studies show bandwidth requirements can be reduced by 25% to 50% with compliance.
- Search Engines; Web standards ensure clarity of coding, making it easier for search engines to accurately index your website. The result is often better ranking in results from Internet searches with the likes of Yahoo! and Google.
How do I know if a website meets W3C Standards?
Most compliant websites include a link allowing the user to validate compliance with a single click. Check the bottom of webpages for links to Valid HTML | CSS or spot the following icons which should only be displayed by standards-compliant webpages.
