[thelist] Why code for standards

[Shirley Kaiser]

At 04:55 AM 2/3/2002, Shoshannah Forbes wrote:
>Over and over again, when talking to Israeli web developers, when I mention
>standards, coding for standards, and using stuff like valid html and css, I
>get a rather lost look, and the reply "why code for standards? It works in
>IE5 as it is, so why bother making our new version of our CMS system we are
>working on now generate valid code, and why get rid of font tags- they are
>so convenient!"
>
>Anyone have by chance some good answers or URLs to give those people, in
>order to get them at least *consider* valid code as an option?

I've seen and read lots of opinions and articles about why standards
matter. One of my projects at the moment is to hunt those down as a
resource (so if anyone knows of some, please let me know, and I'll be
posting them as a reference!). In the meantime, though, I'll list a few:

1. The Web Standards Project has a FAQ
<http://www.webstandards.org/edu_faq.html>

That FAQ goes through a lot of the basics about what web standards are and
why they matter.

2. See also my explanation below your next question ("why do you do so?"),
as I typically use a short analogy like that to start explaining why. If
they also can understand that their pages can be more accessible overall,
are forward thinking, and will save them time and money in the long run,
that can also help.

3. NYPL Online Style Guide
<http://www.nypl.org/styleguide/>

This is an excellent style guide but it also explains much of why it all
matters. I recommend it all the time.

4. More and more governments around the work are requiring some kind of
accessibility implementations. The U.S., as you know, has the 508
guidelines. Many more countries are doing something similar. While that may
not be W3C standards, W3C standards are typically are a part of those
guidelines from what I've seen to date.

5. Also, if they're only coding for IE5, they're limiting themselves, which
is not something I'd recommend. Yes, IE5 may have the major market share
right now, but as Ben Henick mentioned, Netscape had the major market share
awhile back and they no longer do, too. So personally, I wouldn't recommend
writing for only one browser.

6. Browser companies are getting better about working toward standards
(note that I said getting better, not they're perfect by any means). The
software companies that create our HTML editors need to create editors that
will generate standards compliant code, and designers and developers also
need to learn more about creating standards compliant code. WaSP has
already made huge headway with the browser companies and has done some work
with the software companies, too. Of course there's lots more to do. :-)

Iris <laren4 at yahoo.com> already gave a couple of good ones:

Raise Your Standards
February 2002 for WebTechniques
by Molly Holzschlag
<http://www.webtechniques.com/archives/2002/02/desi/>

and

Device Independence Day
August, 2001 for Webmonkey
by Matt Margolin
<http://hotwired.lycos.com/webmonkey/templates/print_template.htmlt?meta=/webmonkey/01/08/index4a_meta.html>

(See below for more.)

>If you try to use valid code in your project- why do you do so?

I support standards and using valid code for many reasons (but I won't
write my dissertation here). The bottom line, though, is that the industry
needs standards. Standards are a base. For example, there are still
millions of lamp styles and light bulb styles, but they've at least agreed
on certain elements to follow to allow each part to come together and work
well, which benefits consumers, developers, companies, and everyone.

So for standards, we're asking the same. If browser companies will use
standards as a base, if software companies will use standards as a base,
and if designers and developers will use standards as a base we'll go a
long way. It hasn't restrained the lamp and light bulb industries and we're
not trying to restrain anyone either.... just trying to work out some
commonalities of fitting and working together well.

Here are more links that may be helpful:

Make Web Sites that Work for All,
article for Web Publishing Secrets,
September 2001 issue of Macworld
by Jeffrey Zeldman
<http://www.macworld.com/2001/09/howto/webpublishing.html>
Why web standards matter and tips on implementing valid code

Iconologic and Standards
<http://www.youngpup.net/?request=/articles/iconologic-and-standards.xml>
An article at youngpup.net explaining why standards matter to his bosses

Introduction to W3C,
by W3C Schools (not affiliated with W3C)
<http://www.w3schools.com/w3c/w3c_intro.asp>
Simple, clear explanation of why the W3C exists - to help create a Web
accessible to all, etc.

The Importance of Web Standards
WebmasterBase.com
by Denis Boudreau
<http://www.webmasterbase.com/article/649>
What they are, why bother, how they help

Interestingly to me, here's an article from 1998 at CNet):

Emerging Web Standards
article for CNet Builder.com
by Kim Wimpsett, 11-3-98
<http://builder.cnet.com/webbuilding/pages/Authoring/Standards/>
See what the thoughts were in 1998 and the predictions for SMIL, PNG,
vector graphics, XML, XSL, RDF, DOM, and other emerging technologies then
(HTML 4.0, CSS, VRML, ECMAScript, P3P, WAI).

>Thanks,
>Shoshannah Forbes
>http://www.forbes.co.il

Shoshannah, that's probably more than you want to know <chuckle> but I hope
whatever you do check out above helps! And BTW, I recently became a
Steering Committee member for WaSP, so I'm all ears to looking at questions
like you've had and working on ways to answer them well (and in a centrally
located place for everyone to access).

HTH!

Warmly,
Shirley
--
Shirley E. Kaiser, M.A.,  SKDesigns  mailto:skaiser1 at skdesigns.com
Web Site Design, Development     http://www.skdesigns.com/
WebsiteTips: Design Resources   http://www.websitetips.com/
Brainstorms and Raves  http://www.brainstormsandraves.com/