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www (w3) Validation
Is W3 Validation essential for a page to display properly?
No - it is not essential, but without it, your site may have major problems with future web browsers.Extensive browser testing can, at least in part, be used instead of writing correct HTML code - for current browsers ONLY. However, coding invalid HTML will generally cause cross-browser display issues, further code is then added by designers to code around browser display issuesm, by outputting different code based on the browser being used to view the page. This approach leads to "spaghetti code" which increases the costs to maintain the site, and will nearly always need to be changed or updated when new browsers come out. The easiest way to rid the headaches and potential pitfalls of future compatibiliy, is to code VALID HTML in the first place.
We recommend:
- Never installing or using any alpha, beta or pre-release browser software.
- Update your browser only if & when advised to do so by your IT or web professional.
- Ensure your web site will be comprehensively screened for HTML errors and cross-browser compatibility.
- Ask your web professional if they even know what the W3 standards are!
- Avoid "web professionals" who don't know what the standards are, or say that they don't matter.
Does validated HTML code guarantee that a page will display correctly?
Unfortunately, no. Browser manufacturers don't always code for valid HTML - especially in pre-release or beta versions of browser.
All "final" versions of browsers should display a valid HTML page without any problems. A good example is Internet Explorer - this browser can have bugs that get fixed, which re-appear in a later version. Example: Internet Explorer 5.5 SP1 fixed many CSS problems, plus fixed a LOT of SSL problem (Secure Socket Layer - for e-commerce & secure transactions). The big problem came when IE 5.5 SP2 came out - almost all of the bugs fixed by the SP1 patch were wiped out! Fortunately, Internet Explorer 6.0 came out only a few short months later - the CSS bugs were largely fixed - but the SSL bugs remain to this day, something which web servers must accommodate and fix on the server side for all IE 6.0 equipped visitors!
What are the potential pitfalls of a site that doesn't validate?
There are many pitfalls to a web site or page that doesn't validate:
- Your site may not display in all browsers:
- Display is not as you expected.
- There is no browsers displayed at all!
- your site may not be indexable by search engine robots and spiders
- you may have to pay extra later down the road to fix problems that should never have left the design phase
If you want to check your site, or those of a potential web designer, use this FREE validation web site produced by W3.org
What is involved in marketing a site?
Here are a number of elements to what we do!
First, we evaluate your site to see if we can market it all- not all sites can be marketed effectively to the search engines.
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Some factors which may prevent your site being marketed:
- Domain forwarding or re-writing
- Large amounts of dynamic content
- ASP technology
- Poorly implemented PHP
Next, we work out if the amount of work needed to be done falls within the scope of the program, and let you know if any additional billable hours will be required to fix the site for marketing - normally 1-2 hours are sufficient if any extra work is required.
We obtain from you a list of keyword phrases to market the site for - then we let you know which ones we can expect to get good (if any results for),and those which will prove troublesome, or may not work in year 1 even!
We carry out the work needed to make you site ready for search engine submissions - this can be a small amount of work, or several hours worth.
Submissions begin... we send you a report each time we submit!
Reports are run - we will provide you a report to show you where you are in the engines for each keyword phrase.
Next, we work out if the amount of work needed to be done falls within the scope of the program, and let you know if any additional billable hours will be required to fix the site for marketing - normally 1-2 hours are sufficient if any extra work is required.
We obtain from you a list of keyword phrases to market the site for - then we let you know which ones we can expect to get good (if any results for), and those which will prove troublesome, or may not work in year 1 even!
We carry out the work needed to make you site ready for search engine submissions - this can be a small amount of work, or several hours worth.
Submissions begin... we send you a report each time we submit!
Reports are run - we will provide you a report to show you where you are in the engines for each keyword phrase.
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