Importance of Web Standards
Methodology
Over the past few years there has been a drastic change in web development methodology. This change has been proved to be highly beneficial for those who have adopted it. Gone are the days of exporting your favorite design from Adobe Photoshop into a semi-functional website. Gone are the days of stuffing as many keywords as possible into your files in hope of a positive search engine return. These statements are not to discount the origins of internet development, but to highlight the shift from undefined web production to web production which is based on development standards.
Benefits
The focus of this article is not to describe technical aspects of web development, but to provide a benefit overview of standards based design. These benefits are possible through the combination of Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) and Extensible Hypertext Markup Language (XHTML). CSS documents are in charge of handling the visual display of your website, while XHTML documents are in charge of formatting your website content. The ultimate goal of standards based web development is to separate your textual content from the visual display of your project.
Maintenance
An initial consideration when producing a website are inevitable maintenance efforts that will follow. Eventually a time will come which requires a site wide change to the layout, color scheme, and other visual or typographic elements. This can quickly become a daunting task if the proper steps where not taken during the website's initial development. The main reason for concern is due to the fact that each file will have to be updated individually to reflect the desired alterations. Unfortunately, time and money go hand in hand in this kind of revamping process, therefore posing a negative situation for the website owner.
The redesign and upgrade dilemma have been addressed by CSS and XHTML development methods. Every piece of visual and typographic information for your website will be stored in a style sheet which essentially instructs the XHTML how to display. Therefore, fear of large upgrades and enhancements to visual aspects are eliminated. Time and effort is now focused towards upgrading or rewriting the style sheet instead of embarking on journey to change every existing file.
Load Time & File Size
One unfortunate side effect of a non-standard approach to web development is bloated project files. When all style information is embedded in each page there are two primary disadvantages. The first is file size. File size is determined by the amount of code each file contains. An excess amount of unnecessary code is usually the culprit in this situation.
You may be thinking,
File size is directly related to the time it takes your files to load. A website is meant to be viewed, and hopefully someone is doing exactly that right now. The downside is that the user of your website is now re-downloading all the embedded style information every time they move from page to page. This can be a strain on their time and user experience as well as bandwidth which you are paying for through your hosting provider.
The implementation of Cascading Style Sheets solves the following issues. File size is reduced by removing excess code from your content. The result can be quite effective when multiplying this savings across a medium to large website project. A CSS document exists as an external file which is linked to your content. The nature of linking external files allows for a CSS document to be loaded into the browser once. Browser caching remembers the file for the duration of the visit. The combination of reduced file size and cached style information increases the speed and effectiveness in which you can serve your website to the public.
Search Engine Optimization
There seems to be a lot of myths about what techniques help a website to be ranked effectively. Search engines are being created to be very smart in regard to their indexing techniques. These engines explore the internet on a regular basis looking for new content, eliminating old content and discrediting unfavorable content. A search engine reacts on behaviors based on what kind of content it finds.
There are website aspects which they approve and disapprove of, which will affect your ranking. Negative development aspects discourage search engine indexing and could possibly result in a search engine leaving your website. Positive development aspects aid in proper indexing and keep a visiting search engine happy through its journey though your website files.
In short, search engines love textual links and content. Anything which hinders access to your content can have a negative affect on your ranking. Such hindrances include embedded menu images, style code and JavaScript. The solution is provided through web development standards which require such files to be externally linked to your content, which allows for improved indexing, usability and maintenance.
Browser Compatability
Current browser manufactures have developed their product(s) to conform to web development standards. Implementation of a standardized presentation method ensures cross compatibility between browser products, websites and their authors. Browsers of the past are becoming less and less an issue for internet development, due to a standardized approach to CSS / XHTML.
Other Internet Devices
Standards based development practices prepare your website project for the future of internet technology. Today, websites are not limited to the computer screen. Wireless and mobile devices access the internet every day for information and commerce. Style sheets enable an author to target mobile devices as well as computer screens. The result is a flexible website that can adapt to different devices and situations. This eliminates the need for duplicate mobile and printable versions and of your project.
