Web Standards and the W3C

One of the most important developments in the evolution of the Web is the development of web standards. To understand why web standards are so important, we first need to consider browsers again for just a moment. Although many differences still exist between how browsers handle events, and render page elements, and layout, and things like that, there really aren't as many differences now, as there have been in the past. So let's go back to the mid to late 90s. There we have two browsers. Netscape and Internet Explorer, both of them were battling each other for market dominance. Now, some refer to this period as the browser wars. In order to build better browsers with cooler capabilities, each one would release proprietary features that were not supported by any other browser.

This meant that with every single new release, web designers would have to learn new ways of developing websites to take advantage of those features. This would often lead to designers needing to develop multiple versions of pages for different browsers. So it was inevitable that as the browser market became more crowded, designers and developers would really just face an impossible task when trying to create pages that looked good everywhere. So it was this environment that led to the creation of the Web Standards Project in 1998 by a group of designers and developers frustrated with the current state of browser development. They began supporting, in an organised way, the adoption of the World Wide Web Consortium recommendations. The World Wide Web Consortium, or it's a little easier to say, the W3C. Began in 1994, an attempted to standardise web protocols in technologies, by issuing a series of recommendations for everyone to follow. Now obviously at this point, no one was listening. So the Web Standards Project started referring to the recommendations as standards in an attempt to convince browser manufacturers to follow them. They began an education initiative to make sure that designers and developers were aware of these standards and would push for them. They also educated the general public by encouraging the use of browsers that supported these standards. In the end, the outcry from the design and development community, along with the rise of open source browsers such as Firefox, helped other manufacturers realise the advantages of supporting web standards. In fact, they did such a good job that in 2013, they announced that their work is now done. I'm not quite sure I agree with that, but I encourage you to learn more about the Web Standards Project by visiting www.webstandards.org. So, what makes understanding web standards so important to designers? Well, if most modern browsers support web standards, and to a degree they all do, that means that by learning those standards and then staying current with their development, you'll ensure that your sites will have a consistent design and user experience across multiple browsers and devices. You can simply design with those standards in mind and make minor tweaks when needed based on browser deficiencies. It's important to note that web standards are a moving target. New recommendations are being published often, in an effort to drive the web forward. The adoption of new standards can be slow, and in most browsers, it's a gradual process. So, it's important to track which standards are supported, which are partially supported, and which lack support based on specific browser versions.

To do that, you'll need to become more familiar with the W3C. On their site, which you can find at w3.org, you can find various specifications for languages like HTML and CSS, that you can use to make sure your code is written to currently accepted web standards.