f5 Media Ltd Web Site Map - Refreshing e-business

Web Standards Validation

As a client do you care if your website is W3C valid? Probably not, however there are some important points to consider...

What is Web Standards Validation?

Technically, Web Standards Validation ensures that the content (e.g. XHTML) and the presentation (CSS) that make up a web page comply with the W3C recommendations. The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is an international industry consortium dedicated to developing de facto standards on the web.

Why Validate?

To save time & money in developing and testing your site in all browsing devices and ensure that your site will be accessible to all current and future browsing devices, such as:

• Web Browsers
• PDAs
• Mobile Phones
• Web TV
• Screen Readers
• Search Engines

Validation isn't a holy grail. Validation 'helps to ensure' your pages work in all browsing devices. Testing in as many devices as possible is still essential.

Further Information

• W3C www.w3.org/Consortium
• W3C/WAI Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 www.w3.org/WAI/GL/WCAG10
• W3C XHTML Validator validator.w3.org
• W3C CSS Validator jigsaw.w3.org/css-validator
• Bobby Accessibility Checker bobby.watchfire.com

Glossary of Terms

• Bobby AAA Bobby is a comprehensive web accessibility software tool designed to help expose and repair barriers to accessibility and encourage compliance with existing accessibility guidelines.
• Browsing Device Anything that allows you to access web pages on the Internet, e.g. a web browser such as Microsoft's Internet Explorer, a PDA, or a Screen Reader.
• CSS Cascading Style Sheet - Defines the presentation of content (e.g. size, colour, font) on a Web page.
• PDA Personal Digital Assistant - a handheld computing device.
• Screen Reader A screen reader interprets content into a different format, e.g. speech or electronic Braille.
• Search Engine A facility that allows users to search and retrieve specific information from the World Wide Web, e.g. Google
• Web Browser Software that allows you to access web pages on the Internet, e.g. Microsoft's Internet Explorer.
• XHTML Extensible Hypertext Markup Language - used to markup content for web pages.
• W3C The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is an international industry consortium dedicated to developing de facto standards on the web.