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Web Topics: Web Standards

What are 'Web Standards'?

They are technologies designed to deliver the greatest benefits to the greatest number of web users while ensuring the long-term viability of published web documents. The technologies include structural languages (XHTML & XML), presentation languages (CSS), object models (DOM), scripting languages (ECMAScript 262). Additional presentation languages include MathML and SVG.

What are the advantages of developing with 'Web Standards'?

A site developed in accordance with web standards has lower development costs and is accessible to more types of internet devices. These include screen readers, PDAs and whatever else evolves. How are costs lowered? The most modern browsers have been developed from the ground up and uniformly support web standards. This means we only have to develop one site for all browsers. No more browser detection to determine what platform and browser a user is on and direct them to an appropriate site. Lower costs and no more frustration for users that were on older computers and browser version. When developing a site to web standards, these users too are included.

A site developed in compliancy to web standards makes is easier for search engines to locate your pages, and evaluates your pages more accurately, thus gets indexed more accurately.

Users with disabilities have access to your site. A site developed to web standards is easily read by screen readers, braille browsers, PDAs, teletext displays and other devices.

As the variety of devices that access web data increase, following web standards becomes a critical step to bridging the gap between the old and the new.

Older browser will read sites designed to web standards just fine. Web standards are backwards compatible. But the greatest part of developing a site to web standards is that you open access to your site to everybody. No more do you have to deny access to even a small part of your audience. From the most early adopters to the poorest on text only, older browsers. Sites developed to web standards means every one now will have access to your site.