Why comply? The move towards W3C compliance
Internet: a powerful tool with endless possibilities to advance business, connect people and share information. We believe that with those opportunities comes a real responsibility to understand their complexity and provide universal solutions to their problems.
For web developers in particular, the onus is on creating sites that are intended to maximize customer contact through fully functional vehicles that drive traffic and generate sales. And in today’s global economy, it also means using W3C-compliant code.
Sharing the knowledge
Fortunately, the Internet community can be a very friendly and helpful environment; one that understands the need for universality, develops protocols to meet the need, and shares them with the masses. One nonpartisan group that plays a vital role in establishing common ground on the Internet is the World Wide Web Consortium. The W3C, as it is known, claims to have a mission to “advance the Web to its fullest potential” by developing and disseminating interoperable technologies and guidelines.
One of his most significant achievements has been breaking down the barrier between companies and their entire customer base by creating coding guidelines for websites that allow any browser to view their pages. This means that mega browsers like Internet Explorer and emerging open source options like Mozilla and Firefox can coexist on the Internet without affecting a company’s bottom line.
speaking the language
Understanding the importance of W3C compliance in your website coding is a simple concept. It’s as easy as realizing that not all of your customers use the same technology as you, and building your website to be accessible to the greatest number of users is essential.
While it was (and still mostly is) pretty safe to assume that many users browse the Internet with Internet Explorer or Netscape as their browser, we’re confident that very soon, that won’t be the case. A rapidly growing population of Internet users is choosing to use open source browsers like Mozilla and Firefox instead of a “branded font”.
When written with W3C compliance standards in mind, whatever browser your customer uses to view your website becomes irrelevant. All of your information will appear on your screen, and the rest is up to you.
Voluntary Compliance
Since there are no governing bodies that force companies to comply with the standards intended to create a universal Web, it is entirely voluntary. But we think it’s an option that makes more sense in the competitive Internet economy. Thanks to the World Wide Web Consortium, there is a mechanism, a standardization, in the language that opens the doors to companies and their customers around the world.
Compliance Makes Sense
There are no rules that say you can’t create a website that can only be viewed in Internet Explorer or Netscape. That is entirely up to you.
What’s also up to you is whether you’re happy with the fact that customers (a growing number) won’t be able to reach you because your website doesn’t speak their computer language.