Web Standards
Web Standards, some would argue, may be the most important aspect of web design, above even the design and layout itself. Web Standards help to ensure that your site is viewable on different devices and platforms and is more easily adapted as new technology arises.
Web Standards are essentially an agreement between the programming code in your site and the devices (browsers like Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, Opera, cell phones and PDA’s) displaying that code. The agreement is that the content will be displayed and work the same or at least similarly with any past, present and future device.
Web Standards also ensure that content is accessible to people with disabilities who cannot access your site through traditional means. Without a standards compliant site you will lose visitors and thereby lose sight of one of your primary reasons for building a site in the first place. To have people visit your site and see what you have to offer.
As of July 2007, 20% of web users worldwide have switched to Internet Explorer 7, 37% are using IE6, 1.5% are still using IE5, 35% are using Firefox, and the rest using Safari and Opera and other browsers.
- Various Sources
Even thought the statistics above may not be accurate I think it’s safe to say that everyone is using a different browser to view the web and everyone has been for some time now. It has become commonplace in the Web Development world to ensure that a site looks the same across these different browsers and Web Standards helps with this. Internet Explorer has been one of the more stubborn pieces in the Standards puzzle, but things are getting much better.
If a web developer is not developing with Web Standards in mind then they are not on the leading edge of where the web is headed and that means your web site is not all that it could be.