What is CSE HTML Validator and Why is it Useful?

CSE HTML Validator (also referred to simply as HTML Validator) is an important part of an HTML development environment. Before publishing web pages, especially pages created manually or with a "dumb" HTML editor, you should check them for syntax errors, misspelled words, and broken links. CSE HTML Validator functions as that checker, helping to make sure that your web pages are written in correct syntax so that they are viewed as intended in a variety of web browsers.

If you don't check your web pages, then there's a much greater chance that your visitors will run into problems, especially if they use a web browser that is different from the one you used to create your web pages.

Do you want a good search engine ranking? Most people want their sites to be listed in a good position on search engines. Web pages that are free of problems have a better chance of a higher ranking on search engines than web pages that contain problems. This is because search engine spiders can get confused and may not read a web page's content correctly if it contains certain problems, especially significant structural errors.

CSE HTML Validator can detect most, if not all major structural problems. In addition, the standard and professional editions display messages that are designed to help improve a website's search engine rankings, such as checking meta description and keyword tags. Following the search engine advice given by CSE HTML Validator could very well result in a significant improvement in a website's search engine rankings. See the Search Engine tab in the Validator Engine Options.

Do you want to automatically fix HTML or change your HTML to XHTML? The standard and professional editions include an HTML Tidy Tool. This tool is capable of automatically fixing certain issues and changing HTML to XHTML. In addition, it can also format ("pretty print") your HTML/XHTML pages to be more readable.

Finally, it is important to know that checking your web pages for correct syntax cannot be done simply by using standard web browsers like Internet Explorer, Netscape, Opera, and Firefox. This is because browsers are mainly designed to only view (render) HTML documents. If syntax errors exist in a web page being viewed, then a browser will attempt to display the web page in a less predictable manner (it guesses as to how it thinks the web page should be displayed). The result of browser guessing due to errors in a web page causes a web page to be displayed in a variety of fashions that are likely to vary depending on the browser and even on the version of the browser.

Often, if a web page has enough errors, it will not even display, or may display only partially. But why worry about it when you can easily check your web pages with CSE HTML Validator? Simply have HTML Validator check your web pages prior to them being published. You may also notice that your web pages display faster and with less problems after syntax problems are corrected.

NOTE: CSE HTML Validator is limited in that it cannot check for a completely problem-free web page, although it can find many syntax errors and offer useful advice and assistance in creating your web pages.

NOTE: CSE HTML Validator is not a DTD validator. However, the standard and professional editions include nsgmls, a DTD validator.

Also see the Why Validate and System Requirements topics.

What is CSE HTML Validator Lite?

CSE HTML Validator Lite is the free edition (for personal and educational use) of CSE HTML Validator. It lacks many of the powerful features of the  standard and professional editions and has reduced syntax checking capabilities, but it's free! This is great for those who do not need to use CSE HTML Validator enough to make it worth purchasing. Now you can still use CSE HTML Validator for those little jobs where the standard and professional editions would be overkill.

CSE HTML Validator Lite is not free for business, government, or any for-profit use unless paired with a paid license of CSE HTML Validator Standard or CSE HTML Validator Professional with the same major version number (like 8.0, 9.0, etc.).

Visit CSE HTML Validator's website for more details on the different editions.

How Much Does the Standard and Professional Editions Cost?

CSE HTML Validator Pro is free for 30 days or for the first 200 validations (whichever comes first) so that you can evaluate it. After the trial period, you are required to register the software if you plan to continue using it. Please see Ordering Information for pricing and more information.

You may distribute the unmodified installation file containing the trial version of CSE HTML Validator (Professional or Lite) to anyone provided that no fee is charged. The standard edition is not free but is less expensive than the professional edition.

Note that the lite edition is free to use for personal and educational use.

AI Internet Solutions welcomes any comments, suggestions, and bug reports that you may have about CSE HTML Validator. Let us know so we can fix any problems that we have not yet been made aware of.

Distribution

CSE HTML Validator is electronically distributed commercial software. You may test it free of charge in accordance with the license agreement. You may also distribute trial versions freely to others so that they may try it. You may distribute any trial version but you may NOT distribute any version that is only for registered users.