The document discusses common misconceptions and pitfalls around using web standards. It argues that web standards are about more than just validation - they are about semantics, separation of concerns, and pragmatism. Some key points include: using the most appropriate HTML elements to convey meaning rather than appearance; applying styles through CSS instead of presentational markup; avoiding non-semantic class names; and recognizing that not all uses of tables or images are invalid. The document advocates for balancing standards with practical concerns like multiple authors and one-off content needs.
5. Web standard tenets
Boil down to three things:
Valid (published grammar)
Separation of content and presentation
Semantic markup/code
6. Visual aesthetics?
“Beautiful sites” can be created with any
technology...
Table-based layouts
Font tags
Giant images
etc
Why bother with web standards/CSS?
7. Why web standards
Some advantages:
Lighter code
Easier to maintain
Easier to change look/feel
Multiple output media
Accessibility
SEO
8. Web standards and aesthetics?
“You can't make good looking sites with web
standards...”
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13. Traditional “old school” way
Choice of markup purely down to their look
<h1> is too big ... I'll use <h4> instead, or just a
<p>
<blockquote> to indent
More space between paragraphs ... add a few
empty <p></p> or just lots of <br>
14. Traditional “old school” way
...then sprinkle presentational markup on top
<p><font size="+3"
color="ff0000”><b>Heading</b></font></p>
<p>this is <b>important</b>.</p>
16. Web standards process
Distinct tasks:
Mark up content with most appropriate
elements — convey meaning, not look
Apply styling (override browser defaults)
17. Semantic / structural markup
<h1>Heading</h1>
<p>this is <strong>important</strong>.</p>
45. Dogmatism and standards
“If your site doesn't validate, you've failed and
nobody wants to even talk to you...”
46.
47. Dogmatism and standards
Validation is not an end in itself
Quality Assurance of your code
Some rules can be bent, others can be broken
Depends on your particular situation
48. Attack of the pedants...
“What's the most semantic way of marking this
up?”
57. Web standards are not just about validation
Easy to use standards in an inappropriate way
Tables are for tabular data
Sometimes, you have to compromise