What are "Web Standards?"
The W3C and other organizations have developed a set of "Standards" for creating and interpreting information on the web. The term "Web Standards" is commonly used to define this philosophy.
It takes developers who are not only proficient and knowledgeable to develop using Web Standards, but there also must be a willful effort to do so. Consequently, most web sites do not conform to these standards which can put the web site owners at a great disadvantage.
What are the Advantages?
Without getting into the technical nitty-gritty, here are some of the major benefits to developing with web standards:
- Save money. This is the biggest factor for many web site owners. Keep reading to find out how Web Standards costs less.
- Less bandwidth. Larger file sizes require more bandwidth. Web Sites that conform to Web Standards are efficient and have much smaller file sizes due to the superior design methods used by the developer. Not only does this mean web pages load faster for the user, but less bandwidth also means less cost.
- Less development time and effort. Developing according to Web Standards means your web site will be much easier to update or even revamp. The entire layout can be completely changed by modifying just a single file. Not only does this save you time, but it saves you money in future development costs.
- Greater accessibility. Most web sites are not properly accessible to users who are physically handicapped, or users who are surfing using portable devices. Adhering to web standards means your web site will be accessible to these people as well.
- Search engine optimization. Because of the way Web Standards compliant web sites are structured, they becomes much more "search engine friendly". This means that your web site is much more likely to turn up in search engine inquiries meaning more potential traffic to your web site from people using sites like Google.
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