Validation ... Does It Really Matter (part 1)
I am always amazed at how dogmatic and even downright
fierce people can be concerning validation. Whether we
are talking about markup validation or css validation
the debate can sometimes become one big shouting match
with both sides making some pretty good arguments and
both sides claiming victory. The purpose of this
article is to try to help people understand what
validation is and what it means. Towards the end I will
offer my personal thoughts on validation.
Basically, there are two types of validation. There is the validation of the markup or the html (xhtml) and then there is the validation of the css (stylesheets). For this first article we will be looking at the markup validation.
What Validation Is
Validation is simply verifying that your webpage or markup is following a set of rules or guidelines that your document declares itself to be. Your webpage should have something called a "DTD" (Document Type Definition) located at the top of the markup (html) that declares what type of syntax you intend to use in your document. There are several different document types and each of them uses a slightly different syntax than the others.
Here is a list of just some of the different document types: (copied from A List Apart)
Now, I do not intend to try to convince you of one document type over another I am simply pointing out that there are a number of different document types.
By declaring that your document is "xhtml Strict" you are saying that your syntax, or that your document will follow the rules for that document type. That is all, nothing more and nothing less.
What Validation Is Not
Markup validation has absolutely nothing to do with the way your site looks or functions, other than, poorly implemented syntax could result in some browsers acting a bit crazy or displaying things much differently than other browsers.
Validation does not necessarily mean that your website will look good in all browsers. It simply means that your document follows the rules that it declares it will follow.
My Thoughts Concerning Markup Validation
Validation must be broken down into two distinct parts ... markup and css and it is important not to confuse the two. The rules that define and make up markup validation are much more accepted as being universal than css validation. It is my opinion that websites should do everything possible to adhere to the proper syntax that their webpage declares itself to be. Even then this will not always be possible especially you are using a lot of javascripts or php on your page.
What happens if you don't use valid markup? Well, that is just the point ... nothing! Nothing happens, nor should it happen. There are a number of Fortune 500 companies whose sites do not validate ... does it mean that they are less of a company because of this? Would you be less likely to do business with them because of this? Of course you wouldn't.
While I do think that if you are going to take the time to build a website then you should invest a little more time to make sure that your markup is considered to be valid it does not mean that the "validation police will be sending you an "e-ticket" because it doesn't validate. There are those who feel that it is their calling in life to visit websites and take it upon themselves to see if it passes validation. These people are either hand coders and believe that all webpages that are generated by an application (like RapidWeaver) are somehow inferior to hand coded site. Or, they are people that have read something on the internet about validation and they automatically assume that it means that a site is somehow inferior because it did not pass validation. Then their are some who just like to let the world know that they deserve to be put on a pedestal and that all of the world should come to them to seek their approval.
(This is part 1 of a 2 part article)
Basically, there are two types of validation. There is the validation of the markup or the html (xhtml) and then there is the validation of the css (stylesheets). For this first article we will be looking at the markup validation.
What Validation Is
Validation is simply verifying that your webpage or markup is following a set of rules or guidelines that your document declares itself to be. Your webpage should have something called a "DTD" (Document Type Definition) located at the top of the markup (html) that declares what type of syntax you intend to use in your document. There are several different document types and each of them uses a slightly different syntax than the others.
Here is a list of just some of the different document types: (copied from A List Apart)
HTML 4.01 STRICT, TRANSITIONAL, FRAMESET
"http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/strict.dtd">
"http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/loose.dtd">
"http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/frameset.dtd">
XHTML 1.0 STRICT, TRANSITIONAL, FRAMESET
"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-frameset.dtd">
XHTML 1.1 DTD
"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml11/DTD/xhtml11.dtd">
Now, I do not intend to try to convince you of one document type over another I am simply pointing out that there are a number of different document types.
By declaring that your document is "xhtml Strict" you are saying that your syntax, or that your document will follow the rules for that document type. That is all, nothing more and nothing less.
What Validation Is Not
Markup validation has absolutely nothing to do with the way your site looks or functions, other than, poorly implemented syntax could result in some browsers acting a bit crazy or displaying things much differently than other browsers.
Validation does not necessarily mean that your website will look good in all browsers. It simply means that your document follows the rules that it declares it will follow.
My Thoughts Concerning Markup Validation
Validation must be broken down into two distinct parts ... markup and css and it is important not to confuse the two. The rules that define and make up markup validation are much more accepted as being universal than css validation. It is my opinion that websites should do everything possible to adhere to the proper syntax that their webpage declares itself to be. Even then this will not always be possible especially you are using a lot of javascripts or php on your page.
What happens if you don't use valid markup? Well, that is just the point ... nothing! Nothing happens, nor should it happen. There are a number of Fortune 500 companies whose sites do not validate ... does it mean that they are less of a company because of this? Would you be less likely to do business with them because of this? Of course you wouldn't.
While I do think that if you are going to take the time to build a website then you should invest a little more time to make sure that your markup is considered to be valid it does not mean that the "validation police will be sending you an "e-ticket" because it doesn't validate. There are those who feel that it is their calling in life to visit websites and take it upon themselves to see if it passes validation. These people are either hand coders and believe that all webpages that are generated by an application (like RapidWeaver) are somehow inferior to hand coded site. Or, they are people that have read something on the internet about validation and they automatically assume that it means that a site is somehow inferior because it did not pass validation. Then their are some who just like to let the world know that they deserve to be put on a pedestal and that all of the world should come to them to seek their approval.
(This is part 1 of a 2 part article)
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