Plan a website that will grow with you.
One way websites can be divided into two categories is standards compliance vs. anything goes. (Actually, in web design terms, it’s called “Quirks Mode.”) While we admire the free spirited and the quirky, these are not good qualities for your technology.
A website should be designed to be standards compliant. This simply means that the code that makes the website work follows standard, agreed-upon rules. But why would it matter for a website?
A standards-compliant website ranks better in search engines.
While standards-compliant coding is not a magic bullet for high search engine rankings, it is one of several factors that helps. Search engines have a much easier time indexing websites that “follow the rules” because all the coding works like it should. On noncompliant websites, search engines have to do their best but may miss some important things.
A standards-compliant website is easier to use.
A standards-compliant website is more user friendly. Since it follows the rules, it has a much better chance of working the way it’s supposed to. Plus, people who have different abilities have a much easier time accessing the content on your website. For example, someone who uses screen reader technology has websites read aloud to them. Screen readers know how to read most standards-compliant websites. It’s anybody’s guess on a quirks-mode website.
A standards-compliant website works better in lots of browsers.
Browsers are multiplying faster than rabbits these days. While most people use Firefox, Safari, Opera, Chrome, or Internet Explorer, there are many, many more. And as browsers are created, they are programmed to interpret standards-compliant websites rather accurately. (Okay, so Internet Explorer 6 and 7 are a different story, but that’s for another day…) Anyway, why not reach people who use any kind of browser by serving up some good, standard code?
A standards-compliant website is ready for the future.
Since standards-compliant websites follow a set of rules, they are prepared for the future. The rules may be added to, but the basics are already in place. So your website will still be rendered correctly as newer and newer browsers and technologies are created. However, who knows what will happen to those “anything goes” websites as technology changes?
Most web designers do not make standards-compliant websites.
It does take a little time, patience, and practice to learn standards-compliant coding. That’s why some web designers don’t bother. Others don’t think it’s important because a website may look okay in a browser, but they’re forgetting all the unseen things: search engine rankings, user experiences, and future performance.
If you’re looking to reach more people, to make your website experience pleasant, and to be ready for the future, be sure that you insist upon a standards-compliant website. Fortunately, Dream Seed makes each website standards compliant so that you’re at an advantage.
Take a look through our articles on web standards if you want to learn more.
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