Web Standards Checklist to Make a Proper Website Part II
Quality of code ::
- Does the site use a correct Doctype?
Ans :: A doctype (short for 'document type declaration') informs the validator which version of (X)HTML you're using, and must appear at the very top of every web page. Doctypes are a key component of compliant web pages: your markup and CSS won't validate without them. - Does the site use a Character set?
Ans :: If a user agent (e.g. a browser) is unable to detect the character encoding used in a Web document, the user may be presented with unreadable text. This information is particularly important for those maintaining and extending a multilingual site, but declaring the character encoding of the document is important for anyone producing XHTML/HTML or CSS. - Does the site use Valid (X)HTML?
Ans :: Valid code will render faster than code with errors. Valid code will render better than invalid code. Browsers are becoming more standards compliant, and it is becoming increasingly necessary to write valid and standards compliant HTML. - Does the site use Valid CSS?
Ans :: You need to make sure that there aren't any errors in either your HTML or your CSS, since mistakes in either place can result in botched document appearance. - Does the site use any CSS hacks?
Ans :: Basically, hacks come down to personal choice, the amount of knowledge you have of workarounds, the specific design you are trying to achieve. - Does the site use unnecessary classes or ids?
Ans :: I've noticed that developers learning new skills often end up with good CSS but poor XHTML. Specifically, the HTML code tends to be full of unnecessary divs and ids. This results in fairly meaningless HTML and bloated style sheets. - Is the code well structured?
Ans :: Semantically correct markup uses html elements for their given purpose. Well structured HTML has semantic meaning for a wide range of user agents (browsers without style sheets, text browsers, PDAs, search engines etc.) - Does the site have any broken links?
Ans :: Broken links can frustrate users and potentially drive customers away. Broken links can also keep search engines from properly indexing your site. - How does the site perform in terms of speed/page size?
Ans :: Don't make me wait... That's the message users give us in survey after survey. Even broadband users can suffer the slow-loading blues. - Does the site have JavaScript errors?
Ans :: Internet Explore for Windows allows you to turn on a debugger that will pop up a new window and let you know there are javascript errors on your site. This is available under 'Internet Options' on the Advanced tab. Uncheck 'Disable script debugging'.
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