Web Standards

What are web standards?

The web is based on a set of standards that are defined internationally. Without these standards the web simply would not work. The standards that dictate how pages are passed from servers to web browsers are adhered to strictly by software developers - but the standards for building the web pages themselves are largely ignored by many web developers.

Why adhere to web standards?

To make a true web site it should be built with the correct standards. If it is not built to the correct standards it may not display correctly in different web browsers or on different operating systems. It may not be properly accessed by the search engines. It might cause the client machine to crash. It might present navigational difficulties for people with disabilities.

W3C World Wide Web Consortium

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) develops interoperable technologies (specifications, guidelines, software, and tools) to lead the web to its full potential. W3C is a forum for information, commerce, communication, and collective understanding. Click here to visit their site.

Accessibility

The W3C's Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) provides strategies, guidelines and resources to make the web accessible to people with disabilities. The WAI develops guidelines widely regarded as the international standard for web accessibility. They provide support materials and resources to help understand and implement web accessibility developed through international collaboration.

http://www.w3.org/WAI/

HTML / CSS / JavaScript

HTML, CSS and JavaScript represent core standards based cross platform compatible technologies for building web sites. WebPac prefers the use of the xHTML sub set as this requires strict coding and enforces a high quality level of code.

Is Flash a Standard?

Flash is a proprietary format and is not a web standard set by W3C. A web site built entirely in flash is not a true web site as such. It does not have the concept of pages and meta tags and hence will never deliver full web performance. However the use of flash within an HTML web page is acceptable as a multimedia plug-in.

Validators

Validators help ensure you are meeting the correct web standards. They are programs that check your web page's syntax to make sure they are set-up correctly.

http://validator.w3.org/
http://jigsaw.w3.org/css-validator/