What are coding standards?
How websites are put together
Websites are created by writing out a series of commands known as 'code'. There are set ways of writing this code and it should always 'validate' to web industry standards.
What kind of code?
Clarified websites use XHTML code to create the content of a web page. 'Content' refers to the words and pictures on the page, and their place within the page structure e.g. paragraphs, headings and lists. We use CSS code to control the appearance of that content, such as the colour and position of each item.
Test it!
The code of any website can be tested using the following industry tools:
Why does it need to be 'valid'?
Not all websites use valid code, and you may not be able to tell just by looking at them! However, poor code can have many implications.
People view websites using different browsers (e.g. Internet Explorer). If code is not valid, some browsers may not display the site properly.
This can apply to accessibility tools too. Screen readers, for example, which read aloud website content to blind users, may be unable to read invalid code, preventing the user hearing the content.
As well as being 'valid', code should be well organised and kept to a minimum. This makes websites display faster, and can improve search engine rankings.
What about your site?
All Clarified sites are validated and tested throughout the construction process. If your own non-Clarified site doesn't validate, we can advise you on how to fix any problems, and do this for you if you wish.
Any more questions?
If you are interested in how we can help improve your website coding standards, please do contact us and we can answer any questions you have.