Why Validate Your Pages?
There are many reasons to write valid HTML, XHTML, and CSS and to check for valid links. Here are some of them:
- SEARCH ENGINES. If you want your site listed on search engines (and who doesn't?) then make sure that you have good HTML. Many engines cannot properly catalog or index a site that has serious HTML errors. This can greatly reduce the amount of traffic your web site receives from search engines.
- BETTER, FASTER RENDERING. Properly written HTML will render better, render on more browsers, and render faster than HTML with errors. It's also more easily adapted to print and alternative browsing devices like mobile phones and other handheld computer devices.
- A CONSISTENT DOCUMENT OBJECT MODEL (DOM). Bad HTML may cause different browsers (and different versions of the same browser) to generate different DOMs. This can cause CSS to render differently and make it more difficult to write JavaScript that works properly on different browsers.
- FUTURE-PROOF. Properly written HTML is more likely to be future-proof (backward compatible with future standards and future web browsers).
- LINKS THAT WORK. Broken links can quickly drive visitors away. How many times have you been annoyed when you found a broken link?
- AVOID UGLY PAGES. Problems such as "ugly" pages caused by poor HTML constantly drive visitors away from web sites. Do you want your web site to be one that customers will leave because of poor quality?
- THINK IT'S ALREADY GOOD? If you think that your HTML is good the way it is and that you don't need to check it (as many people think), then let CSE HTML Validator check your HTML to prove that you're right. Chances are that you'll be surprised and that your HTML has room for improvement.
- BE STANDARDS COMPLIANT. Browsers are becoming more standards compliant, and it is becoming increasingly necessary and important to write valid and standards compliant HTML. CSE HTML Validator will help alert you to HTML that is not standards compliant and that may cause viewing problems for visitors.
- BEWARE OF WYSIWYG EDITORS. A WYSIWYG editor is no excuse for not producing good HTML. If a WYSIWYG editor does not produce good HTML, then it should not be used or its output should be fixed manually. Newer WYSIWYG editors are better but many still have problems writing correct HTML.
- HAVE DYNAMIC PAGES? Having a site with dynamic pages is also no excuse for bad HTML. CSE HTML Validator lets you easily check the HTML output of your dynamic pages. If the dynamic pages are outputting HTML that is full of errors, then the pages should be fixed.
- BETTER RENDERING. Writing error-free HTML is the best way to help ensure that pages render optimally in as many browsers as possible. This includes older browsers and browsers that are yet to be developed.
- WRITE IT ONCE. Write it right the first time and write it once. Write it wrong, and you may be writing it again later.
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Mobile Devices
Mobile devices have become very popular, and many people may be viewing your website on a mobile device. Any HTML or CSS problems could be especially harmful for viewers using browsers on mobile devices, so this is another great reason to validate your web documents.
Variety of Browsers
Today there's a wide variety of browsers that may be used to view your site. To cater to this variety, a developer should build sites that work well in all the major browsers. This might include Firefox, Google Chrome, Opera, Safari, Internet Explorer and the increasing number of mobile browsers. Making sure that the HTML and CSS is correct is the first step in making sure that a site will display correctly in multiple browsers.
Different Rendering Engines
Different browsers use different rendering engines so tricks used to make HTML render as desired in one browser may not work in another browser or even in an earlier or later version of the same browser. Fortunately, browsers today are driving toward standards compliance, and proprietary elements like "layer" and "ilayer" are being dropped. So what can be done to make sure that your pages render properly in different browsers and different versions of the same browser?
The best way to ensure that web pages render properly in web browsers is to write good HTML in the first place. Problems that visitors have when they view pages with different browsers may often be due to bad HTML and not an issue with the browser. Furthermore, some browsers are less forgiving of bad HTML than other browsers like Internet Explorer (which can be very forgiving). Don't rely on the user's browser to be forgiving of bad HTML and CSS. It's best to write it right the first time.
CSE HTML Validator Standard, Professional, or Enterprise
CSE HTML Validator is designed to be nothing but the best tool there is for finding HTML, XHTML, and CSS problems in the easiest way possible. It makes the critically important duty of checking your web documents as productive and thorough as possible. Find out why CSE HTML Validator is better than other programs and online services.
You can also read about how CSE HTML Validator can be useful to you.
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This article is translated to Serbo-Croatian language by Jovana Milutinovich from Web Geeks Resources.