Sunshine Coast Web Design
firm 12website pty ltd wish all of our newsletter readers and subscribers Happy Holidays.
Web design falls into two main categories -
website design for a new business and web redesign / upgrade for an existing business.
If you were going to buy a new fax machine or upgrade an old one would you buy one that was user friendly, and conformed to the standards of your country. Would a US fax machine be the best option for an Australian buyer - with the different voltage requirements and date formats? Unlike fax machines, web sites are international, however an up to date or current web designer uses web design software that complies to the current standards. To the unsuspecting user a US fax machine looks like an Australian fax machine...
Taking web standards into account when designing a website may not be a primary concern for many site owners, but when it comes to finding an extra edge to improve their business, they are more than willing to do anything required to increase revenues. Let's see how complying with Web standards can help a business website.
What are the Web Design Standards?
On the Web, the main standards are the languages used when creating websites. The most wide-spread ones are HTML, XHTML and CSS. HTML or XHTML are used to create the backbone of websites - the structure. (The difference between HTML and XHTML is that XHTML was formed from XML and is forward compatible.) CSS, in turn, is used to style, format and position the structure and content. Professional web design
What is Web Standards Compliance?
Put simply, web standards compliance is using web languages correctly. This involves using HTML tags properly and the way they were and are intended to be used. For instance, one of the most common crimes against the web standards is using table tags for layout, while the correct usage is to use them only for tabular data (information to be put in tables).
Benefits of Web Standards Compliance
Creating quality, standards compliant code has a number of benefits:
- website forward compatibility
- increased site download speed - more in web design homepage
- browser compatibility
(Most common web browsers are Internet Explorer and Firefox.)
- easier website maintenance
- broader target audience
How Can This Help Business?
Perhaps every entrepreneur is asking himself right now, "And where is the money here?" Probably every benefit can either increase revenues or save expenses. Let's look at them in detail.
Website Forward Compatibility
Web standards, such as XHTML and CSS, are designed to work forever. They will also be supported for an almost unlimited period of time. Designing a site according to web standards will ensure the website backbone will not need to be redone any time soon, which reduces the amount of work on the site and the expenses of the site owner. More in web design function.
Increased Download Speed
When using XHTML for content and structure and CSS for styling and formating, page size is reduced when compared to a page, designed with tables for layout. For instance, a site with a relatively small number of images is 50% smaller than a table-based website. Because users enjoy fast-loading websites (they start leaving after eight (8) seconds beyond clicking on a link), they will be more likely to become a clients of a web standards compliant website.
|
