Building Standards-Compliant Websites
What are Web Standards?
Web standards are carefully designed to deliver the greatest benefits to the greatest number of web users while ensuring the long-term viability of any document published on the Web. Designing and building with these standards simplifies and lowers the cost of production, while delivering sites that are accessible to more people and more types of Internet devices. Sites developed along these lines will continue to function correctly as traditional desktop browsers evolve, and as new Internet devices come to market.
World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) (http://www.w3.org)
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is an international community with the mission to lead the World Wide Web to its full potential by developing protocols and guidelines that ensure the long-term growth of the Web.
The social value of the Web is that it enables human communication, commerce, and opportunities to share knowledge. One of W3C’s primary goals is to make these benefits available to all people, whatever their hardware, software, network infrastructure, native language, culture, geographical location, or physical or mental ability.
The number of different kinds of devices that can access the Web has grown immensely. Mobile phones, smart phones, personal digital assistants, interactive television systems, voice response systems, kiosks and even certain domestic appliances can all access the Web.
W3C’s vision for the Web involves participation, sharing knowledge, and thereby building trust on a global scale.
The Web was invented as a communications tool intended to allow anyone, anywhere to share information. For many years, the Web was a “read-only” tool for many. Blogs and wikis brought more authors to the Web, and social networking emerged from the flourishing market for content and personalized Web experiences. W3C standards have supported this evolution thanks to strong architecture and design principles.
Some people view the Web as a giant repository of linked data while others as a giant set of services that exchange messages. The two views are complementary, and which to use often depends on the application.
The Web has transformed the way we communicate with each other. In doing so, it has also modified the nature of our social relationships. People now “meet on the Web” and carry out commercial and personal relationships, in some cases without ever meeting in person. W3C recognizes that trust is a social phenomenon, but technology design can foster trust and confidence. As more activity moves on-line, it will become even more important to support complex interactions among parties around the globe.
W3C – About Web Standards (http://www.w3.org/standards/about.html)
Markup Language (Second Edition) (http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/)
W3C – XHTML™ 1.1 – Module-based XHTML – Second Edition (http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml11/)
W3C – HTML5 (http://www.w3.org/TR/html5/)
W3C – Cascading Style Sheets, Level 1 (http://www.w3.org/TR/CSS1/)
W3C – Cascading Style Sheets Level 2 Revision 1 (CSS 2.1) Specification (http://www.w3.org/TR/CSS21/)
W3C (HTML and xHTML Markup Validator) (http://validator.w3.org/)
W3C (CSS Validator) (http://jigsaw.w3.org/css-validator/)
W3C (W3C mobileOK Checker (http://validator.w3.org/mobile/)
W3C (W3C Cheatsheet) (http://www.w3.org/2009/cheatsheet/)
The W3C cheatsheet provides quick access to CSS properties, WCAG tips, mobile tips, and more.
W3C Markup Validation Service – About The W3C Markup Validation Service (http://validator.w3.org/about.html)
W3C Markup Validation Service – Documentation for the W3C Markup Validator (http://validator.w3.org/docs/)
W3C Markup Validation Service – Help and FAQ for the Markup Validator (http://validator.w3.org/docs/help.html)
W3C Quality Assurance Library (http://www.w3.org/QA/Library/)
W3C Quality Assurance Tips for Webmasters – Don’t forget to add a doctype (http://www.w3.org/QA/Tips/Doctype)
W3C Quality Assurance – Recommended Doctype Declarations to use in your Web document (http://www.w3.org/QA/2002/04/valid-dtd-list.html)
W3C Tutorial (http://www.w3schools.com/w3c/default.asp)
A List Apart – Fix Your Site With the Right DOCTYPE! (http://www.alistapart.com/articles/doctype/)
Web Design Group HTML Vailidator (http://www.htmlhelp.com/tools/validator/)
Web Standards Group (WSG) – About Web Standards – What are Web Standards? (http://webstandardsgroup.org/standards/)
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), along with other groups and standards bodies, has established technologies for creating and interpreting web-based content. These technologies, which we call “web standards,” are carefully designed to deliver the greatest benefits to the greatest number of web users while ensuring the long-term viability of any document published on the Web.
Designing and building with these standards simplifies and lowers the cost of production, while delivering sites that are accessible to more people and more types of Internet devices. Sites developed along these lines will continue to function correctly as traditional desktop browsers evolve, and as new Internet devices come to market.
Robert Nyman’s What are Web Standards? A comprehensive explanation of what is comprised in the term (http://robertnyman.com/2007/05/21/what-are-web-standards-a-comprehensive-explanation-of-what-is-comprised-in-the-term/)
Web Standards Project(WaSP) (http://www.webstandards.org/)
The Web Standards Project is a grassroots coalition fighting for standards which ensure simple, affordable access to web technologies for all.
WaSP – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) – What are web standards and why should I use them? (http://www.webstandards.org/learn/faq/)
New to Standards? A good place to start would be WaSP’s Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page. Learn about web standards and find out about the advantages of using Web standards.
WaSP – Web Standards for Business (http://www.webstandards.org/learn/articles/web_standards_for_business/)
In this article, François Nonnenmacher talks about how the separation of content and presentation falls in line with enforcing corporate brand and image through style guides and how employing Web standards can benefit a company’s Web development process and technical support infrastructure. This article highlights the benefits of using Web standards for business sites (Internet, intranet and extranet sites). It is aimed at stakeholders from the marketing, communication and IT departments.
WaSP – HTML Versus XHTML (http://www.webstandards.org/learn/articles/askw3c/oct2003/)
WaSP – Common Ideas Between HTML and XHTML (http://www.webstandards.org/learn/tutorials/common_ideas/)
Mozilla Development Network – The Business Benefits of Web Standards (https://developer.mozilla.org/en/the_business_benefits_of_web_standards)
Doing more with less seems to be the mission impossible for web designers: Addressing more customers, a broader audience, more diversity in terms of browsers, more accessibility, users asking for more speed, while spending less to maintain or redesign a web site. Caught between a rock and a hard place, web designers face a formidable challenge. Yet they are finding an unsuspected ally in the battle – Web Standards. This article discusses how adhering to web standards, and leaving behind proprietary markup and technologies, can contribute to a company’s business goals.
Dev.Opera – Introduction to the Web Standards Curriculum (http://dev.opera.com/articles/view/1-introduction-to-the-web-standards-cur/)
Opera Web Standards Curriculum (http://www.opera.com/company/education/curriculum)
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56 Berea Street – Developing With Web Standards – Recommendations and best practices (http://www.456bereastreet.com/lab/developing_with_web_standards/)
This document attempts to explain how and why using web standards will let you build websites in a way that saves time and money for developers and provides a better experience for visitors. Also discussed are other methods, guidelines and best practices that will help produce high-quality websites that are accessible and usable to as many people and browsing devices as possible.
mezzoblue – A Roadmap to Standards (http://www.mezzoblue.com/archives/2004/04/30/a_roadmap_to/index.php)
A Roadmap to Standards is Dave Shea’s guide for anyone who wants to learn about and use web standards, but doesn’t know where to start.
maxdesign – Basic Web Standards Workshop (http://www.maxdesign.com.au/articles/workshop/)
maxdesign – Web Standards Checklist (http://www.maxdesign.com.au/articles/checklist/)
The Business Case for Web Standards – MACCAWS-Primer – What Every Web Site Owner Should Know About Standards: A Web Standards Primer (http://icant.co.uk/webstandardsforbusiness/pmwiki.php/Main/MACCAWS-Primer)
sitepoint – The Importance of Web Standards (http://articles.sitepoint.com/article/importance-web-standards)
sitepoint – Standards – Just One Part of a Sensible Design (http://articles.sitepoint.com/article/standards-sensible-design)
sitepoint – HTML or XHTML: Does it Really Matter? (http://articles.sitepoint.com/article/html-or-xhtml-does-it-matter)
sitepoint – Bulletproof HTML: 37 Steps to Perfect Markup (http://articles.sitepoint.com/article/html-37-steps-perfect-markup)
sitepoint – The Future: HTML or XHTML (http://articles.sitepoint.com/article/future-html-xhtml)
sitepoint – XHTML – An Introduction http://articles.sitepoint.com/article/xhtml-introduction
sitepoint – Introduction to XML http://articles.sitepoint.com/article/introduction-xml
sitepoint – XHTML Web Design for Beginners http://articles.sitepoint.com/article/xhtml-web-design-beginners-2
Text Books
Grannell, C., Sumner, V. and Synodinos, D. (2012) The Essential Guide to HTML5 and CSS3 Web Design – First Edition – Apress
Sikos, L.F. (2011) Web Standards – Mastering HTML5, CSS3, and XML – First Edition – Apress
Companion website at http://www.masteringhtml5css3.com/
Web Standards: Mastering HTML5, CSS3, and XML is also a comprehensive guide to current and future standards for the World Wide Web. As a web developer, you’ll have seen problems with inconsistent appearance and behavior of the same site in different browsers. Web standards can and should be used to completely eliminate these problems. Web Standards: Mastering HTML5, CSS3, and XML describes how you can make the most of web standards, through technology discussions as well as practical sample code that you can use for your own sites and web applications. It also provides a quick guide to standard website creation for Web developers. Mastering HTML5, CSS3, and XML provides solutions to the most common website problems, and gives you a deep understanding of web standards and how they can be applied to improve your website. You will learn how to create fully standards-compliant websites and provide search engine-optimized Web documents with faster download times, accurate rendering, correct appearance and layout, lower development cost, approved accessibility, backward and forward compatibility, and easy maintenance and content updating. The book covers all major Web standards, focusing on syntax, grammar, recommended annotations, and other standardization concerns.
Murphy, C. and Persson, N. (2009) “HTML and CSS Web Standards Solutions – A Web Standardistas’ Approach”
Cederholm, D.(2009) “Web Standards Solutions – The Markup and Style Handbook (Special Edition)”
Zeldman, J.and Marcotte, E. (2010) “Designing with Web Standards” Third Edition
Robbins, J. N. (2007) “Learning Web Design – A Beginner’s Guide to (X)HTML, Style Sheets and Web Graphics”
Web Standards Checklist for Developers (PDF 42KB)