W3C Compliance and Web Standards

There is a minority group of developers that have been evangelizing validation and markup. One of our most successful clients was approached by someone willing to redesign the site to conform to W3C Validation Standards, and was sent a list detailing 244 errors in the markup and 4 warnings!

So What is Validation?

Validation is simply a check to make sure the code conforms to certain language standards, similar to the way written English language conforms to grammatical rules. You’ve heard of Grammar Nazis?  Well, The Validation Evangelists are their spiritual twins.

There are several validation standards the most common being HTML, XHTML. Because web languages are constantly evolving (just like the English language only faster), validation standards are frequently updated with new requirements being added to cater for groups such as visually impaired and compatibility issues across browsers..

The whole point of Validation was originally created to ensure websites look the same across multiple browsers/platforms, however the major browsers have completely overlooked this point and have their own peculiarities that will display even valid code completely differently. Internet Explorer has been notorious in the past for ignoring web standards when it comes to displaying HTML, CSS, XML.

So Developers STILL have to test their site in all the major browsers and tweak accordingly. In some cases we’re forced to break standards to get it to work!

Why is it so difficult to validate websites?

A website that consists of a single html page and form with nothing fancy is easy to check and validate. The problem arises when creative developers start pushing the boundaries of what’s possible using a blend of JavaScript, CSS and AJAX to create elegant user interfaces and deliver dynamic content. There are no fixed standards for the combination of these technologies because they are innovative and cutting-edge. Standards are created after the technology has matured and everyone involved is aware of the limitations. We’re a long way from standardizing the internet.

So back to these 244 errors and 4 warnings

The site in question is ironically one of our most successful recruitment project. It was built with a intuitive interface that guides potential candidates to jobs by filtering the data on-the-fly. The conversion rate is one of the highest I’ve ever seen for a site in this niche.

It also has a self-optimizing database that automatically assigns priority to certain pages and optimizes those pages for search engines. And the results are great rankings in Google with minimal effort.

It efficiently solves the two main problems facing all websites, attracting visitors and converting them.

Now we could remove some of the features as suggested to make the site more compliant, maybe spend a few days tracking down the more obscure validation issues to make those Validation Evangelists happy.

But wait lets see how the big players do Validation…

Google.com

66 Errors, 8 warning(s)

They have more errors than words on the page!

ebay.com

228 Errors, 1 warning(s)

Amazon.com -

1974 Errors, 153 warning(s)

Ouch, how the hell does their site work with all those errors?

Facebook.com

69 Errors, 27 warning(s)

All these errors on what should be a simple login page.

Monster.com

305 Errors, 144 warning(s)

As you can see most of the big players don’t bother with web standards, Validation is a non-issue. It’s for developers with too much time on their hands and not enough clients or creativity.

My problem with Validation Evangelists

There are a few companies like Google, Ebay, Amazon that forge the way with bold concepts and innovative ideas, responding to the changing internet with fast user-centric sites. The vast majority simply try to imitate them with a few bells and whistles added. Then you have the Validation flock… nitpicking at the code and missing the point entirely.

This would not be so much of a problem if the Validation guys kept to their own HTML, but they are insistent on spreading the word, sharing the joys of lovingly crafted code, markup so strict it flagellates the user. Sending my clients fire-and-brimstone emails with 244 errors in the markup and 4 warnings!

These Validation Evangelists generally have absolutely no creative or inventive ability, unable to create anything new or push the boundaries of any web technology. They blindly stumble along the path created by those who have gone before them, with no comprehension of the underlying principles of the internet, clutching the stone tablets of validation as if it was handed to them by Moses himself.

If Grammar Nazis had their way in the early days the English language would still conform the archaic rules of Ye Olde Englishe with thee’s and thou’s abound. Similarly obsessive compulsive developers that insist on perfect validation would force us to use coding techniques and technology that’s equally out of date.

The Blog