Web Standards

Validation

We are often asked "does validation it really matter?" Whilst valid code is not the be all and end all of effective web design we believe that the answer is always "yes it does". Developing a site that validates to W3C standards helps in a number of ways.

• Efficient, valid code tends to enable pages to load faster
• Content is more portable across different media and devices (eg mobile devices and Print Stylesheets)
• Invalid code may produce unpredictable results
• Validation is the first step to browser compatibility (more below)
• Invalid code risks future obsolescence as browser technologies evolve
• We also believe that attention to detail is crucial - even behind the scenes

Compatibility

Browser compatibility is one of the most important aspects of web site design. Web browsers all work in slightly different ways. Some are more susceptible to badly written code, whilst others are able to parse even the most horrendously written web pages. As mentioned above, validation can help in many cases, but not all. We have designed web sites which validated correctly, but failed to display correctly in certain browsers. A re-write of the code soon fixed this problem, but without compatibility checking, this error may easily have been missed. For this reason Geek Squad Creations test all aspects of our web sites on as many operating systems as possible and in as many different browsers as possible, including text only browsers.

Accessibility

Accessibility builds on both of the above subjects. Remember the world wide web is a medium which is available to all. Some of your users may have certain disabilities which make even the cleanest and simplest web site difficult for them to use. Below are a few instances of potential issues.

Colour Blindness & Vision Impairment

• Careless choice of colour combinations may mean that certain people cannot see your content.
• Some visitors may rely on screen reading software such as Jaws. A badly written site may be incomprehensible or at best difficult when heard rather than seen.
• Also fonts must be scaleable to enable people with poor eyesight to easily resize the text.

Learning Disabilities & Epilepsy

• Certain colour combinations can cause difficulties for users with certain learning disabilities.
• Flashing or moving images are a potential issue for both learning disabilities and epilepsy.

Poor motor skills

• Some users may be unable to use a mouse, there are provisions which can be built into a site to enable such people to navigate your site using other methods.