Validating your CSS, HTML or XHTML Code
November 3, 2006 – 3:02 pm
Personally, until recently I never validated my code because I just didn’t see the point in wasting that extra time to do so. As I get into developing more web projects lately I am taking greater skill and time to simply tie up the loose ends and validating code is one of those steps. I haven’t cleaned up the CommerceCubes site just yet but I am planning a clean up and validation of the code shortly.
My newest project, BizCandy, I am validating the code as I build the site and application. I completely have the end user’s interest in mind because anyone these days can build a site or an application but only a few can do it exceptionally well and validation sets the men apart from the boys in the world of web development.
Personally it doesn’t take a lot of time and the code looks nicer. Lots of web designers and web developers out there will build a site for your business but not all follow the standards put in place by the World Wide Web Consortium or “W3C” as its lovingly known.
So why is validating your code important?
In short, it makes your pages function at an acceptable standard set by the W3C. It is also friendlier to most browsers, users and search engines out there.
What types of code can I validate?
Here is a list of some of the types of syntax you can validate…
• XHTML/HTML
• CSS
• XML
• … Just to name a few!
If you are hiring a web developer then by all means hire someone with the right skills from programming and layout but make sure that they can deliver valid code. If you are looking for a pretty design (something visual) then most validation will not help you choose a web designer because web designers are seen as the visual developers of a site and the only validation you would need to think about would be CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) because it controls layouts, colors, fonts, etc.
Lucas
Enjoy your validating