Web Standards as the name suggests is a set of guidelines and best practices that must be followed while creating and developing a site. The term encompasses a number of aspects related to web design and development and it is required that a website complies with them. Since adhering to these standards is a must, we have prepared a Web standards checklist that can act as guide for the designers and developers and help them create a standard compliant website.

CHECKLIST

1. DOCTYPE and Character Set

As there are multiple versions of (X)HTML, it becomes essential to indicate what version is being used for the web document. A DOCTYPE declaration helps in this regard; however, it needs to be accurate. W3C has recommended several such declarations for usage.

HTML 4.01

XHTML 1.0

HTML 5

Another important thing to do is carry out character encoding and declare it so that browsers and Validator can detect it and convert the bits into character appropriately.

2. Valid (X) HTML and CSS

It is highly important to check the code for its accuracy and ensure that the (X)HTML and CSS mark up is valid. This is because a valid code offers benefits such as pages load fast, minimal errors and web pages will be displayed as intended. To validate the code, one can make use of W3C Markup Validation service and W3C CSS Validation service.

3. Code Structure and No Unnecessary Ids or Classes

It must be ensured that the code is well organized and contains essential elements. In addition to this, it must be noted that it is free from unnecessary classes or ids making it bulky.

4. No Broken Links

A site must not contain broken links for it leaves a very bad impression on the visitors as they are not able to reach the desired destination. Broken links also have a negative effect on SE ranking as search engine spiders devalue the sites with such links. It is thus advised to inspect all the links to avoid any adverse situation. Link Checker is a useful tool to check broken links.

5. Load Speed

As users are averse to waiting, make sure that web pages load fast and don’t make them wait for long. There are number of tools to test the loading speed of a site such as Page Speed Online, Yahoo! YSlow, BrowserMob, Web Page Test, etc.

6. Separating Content and Presentation

Make use of CSS to keep separate the content presentation attributes, say color, font, sizing, etc. This helps keeping the HTML code cleaner.

7. Describe the Images ALT Tag

Using ‘alt’ attribute for images and other non- text element is a good practice for it helps search engine spiders as well the users in case image is not displayed.

8. Don’t Let the Layout Break on Increasing Font Size

As users cannot be made to view the pages in default font size, it should be ensured that the layout remains consistent and is not distorted if the font size is increased.

9. Easy to Access Forms

Make sure that the form on your site is easy to access and remains usable even for disables. For example, you can add the text-to-speech and magnifier options.

10. Links – Make them Descriptive

Links should be descriptive so that they clarify the meaning and enable a user understand as to where he/she will be landing after clicking on the link.

11. Compatibility with Different Browsers

No matter what, in order to reach the audience on a large scale, it is important to make the site compatible with all major browsers so that users can access it irrespective of what browser they use. To gain information on browser usage, one can visit http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_stats.asp.

12. Compatibility with Mobile Devices

Given that users are increasing using their mobile devices for accessing the web, it makes sense to see the compatibility of the site with such devices including smartphones like iPhone, BlackBerry, etc., tablets like iPads, Android-based tablets, PlayBook etc.

13. Navigation

A site’s navigation must be consistent and smooth enough to guide the users to the desired location. As it enhances the usability, a site must be easy to navigate by the user. You can boost your site navigation with breadcrumbs.

14. Sitemap

A sitemap is a useful tool that helps users to find the information they want. By helping users, it increases the usability of the site.

The above checklist may not be comprehensive but we have tried and included some of the most important factors in it for our readers to take advantage from it. We hope that our readers like it and suggest some more points through their comments.