Why we are going back to Standards Compliant Websites?
Standards Compliant web design isn’t really a debatable issue as of yet. During the first years of Logistics Studio every site we built had valid code, and then over time we to had succumb to the many wonders, supporters, and suppliers of the emerging HTML5, and CSS3 coding that has taken the Internet over. The problem is the code doesn’t work in all browsers making it invalid, and although the effects are outstanding they can be a major down fall from a SEO aspect. Unfortunately, this handcuffs our creativity, and makes a green solution half baked.
Search Engines love relevant text, clean valid code, fast loading times, and each of these factors plays a vital role in the placement of a website in search results. In 2012 we will make Standards Compliant websites a priority for our customers, and will be encouraging them to live without some of the effects until they will validate.
Awesome Websites without breaking the rules
Back To Web Basics
Some of the effects that suffer from certain browsers holding the new coding back are rounded corners, text shadows, box shadows, opacity transitions, and a host of others. Attempting to use these effects now will always lead to omissions, display problems, and as mentioned the SEO issues. So from this day forward we will be using a lot more square corners, going back to using CSS sprites to handle effects, and put forth extra effort to solve these issues for our customers.
Consistent Appearance
One of the major drawbacks to making a move like this is support from the rest of the development community, as most developers are using the errant code despite the facts I have outlined. Automatic updates for the Woo Framework, Pricing Tables, and other plugins should only be attempted if the process is fully understood. Trimming the code down to achieve compliance requires editing key files within plugins, and frameworks making updates difficult for the end user but sets the site apart from the many non compliant competitors sites.
Lean Code Fast Load
This is always the customer’s choice to be in compliance, or remain out of it. The clear advantages of compliance are speed, search engine compatibility, browser compatibility, and the ability of standing out from the crowd as so many are prematurely using the as yet to be established compliant codes. The disadvantages are extra cost to have the developer edit files, debug updates, and living without some of the cool features one might observe on other sites.
Follow Us For Standards Compliance
Our pick is to be in compliance until the Internet Authorities make up their minds about the new codes. Paying a little attention to this will pay dividends for both the user of the site, as well as the site owner getting a leg up on the competition with improved performance in speed and search. At the bottom of all pages are the links for both the HTML, and the CSS validators to show the website is clean of bad code. Access for the validators can be found at CSS Validator, and HTML Validator. Plugin any domain name to see how well they are built and prepare to be amazed.