web standards + css...
This resource offers four versions of a webpage, each developed using different methods (read more). It demonstrates some of the principles espoused by the web standards movement. In keeping with modern web development philosophies version 3 and version 4 of the demonstration page are developed in xhtml using css, rather than tables, for layout.
so what are web standards?
Web standards are an attempt to beat the web developer's biggest nightmare to date: that sites display differently depending on what the user is viewing them in.
Since the late 1990s a vocal group has been successful in getting browser manufacturers to create browsers that display content in a standard way, based on the World Wide Web Consortium's detailed specifications for coding languages. The highly recommended Firefox and Mozilla, Opera 7 fall into this category; Internet Explorer 6 is fairly good but version 7 will hopefully be better.
The next step is to encourage developers to build sites that also comply with these standards, the main ones being html 4.01, xhtml 1.1 and css 2.0.
A central concept is the separation of content (what's being displayed) and presentation (how it's formatted). A concerted push has been made over the past few years to encourage developers to stop using tables as their primary layout tool and to harness the power of css.
The other main push is for developers to start using xhtml rather than html. xhtml is very similar to html but adds the customisation power of xml.
why use them?
There are numerous benefits to developing standards-compliant sites, including
- knowing that work will display consistently in modern browsers, now and in the future
- greater accessibility for users viewing sites in other display agents: screen readers, handheld devices, text-only and older browsers
- more efficient file sizes, decreasing bandwidth
- ease of updating entire sites by updating a single css document
how do i know if work is standards-compliant?
There are a number of tools available that will analyse pages and give developers a report listing any problem areas.
- W3.org has an excellent free validation service for html, xhtml and css validation.
- Toolbar plugins are available for Internet Explorer and Mozilla-based browsers
- Development tools are starting to incorporate compliance testing tools - Dreamweaver MX (pictured below) leads the pack at time of writing.
