Web Development Standards

The Web Has Many Faces

Validation and Standards

Depending on which browser you are using, the Internet can look quite different. Your cousin in Los Angeles might see a page look entirely differently than your friend in Singapore. That is because the majority of websites do not validate, and are not standards compliant. The W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) has established guidelines by which web developers can design standards-compliant code. By coding according to these guidelines, web developers can ensure that the page will look as intended in specific browsers, as well having written a language that will be universally understood by other developers, should someone else work on the site. You can read more details on validation by visiting the Testing area of our community site.

Finding What You're Looking For

Site Navigation

Each page on Contract Web Development contains a "breadcrumb" navigation trail at top which tells you exactly where you are in the site. You may always follow the breadcrumb trail back to the homepage, or alternatively, use the main navigation menu at top to reach the main areas of the site. In addition, since some pages are longer than others, and because visitors using smaller resolutions (smaller screens) may need to do more scrolling than others, we have provided Top of Page links at the bottom of each page that will allow you to return to the top.

Service Links

At the bottom of each page are a set of service links, the first of which is email this page, which allows you to email your favorite pages to friends, yourself, or anyone else. The second is print this page, which produces a text-only, print-friendly formatted version of each page which you can print out. We also allow users to post comments.

Syndication

As mentioned above you can subscribe to a page's RSS feed by clicking on feed link at the bottom of each page. On the left-hand side of your screen, above the search boxes, are a list of popular bookmarking and search options (del.iciou.us, digg, Google, Yahoo, and Technorati). Also available but unlisted are Reddit, ma.gnolia.com, Newsvine, Furl, IceRocket, and PubSub. If you would like support for these please let me know.

Beyond Validation

User Accessibility

Contract Web Development goes beyond traditional web development standards. Because validation does not guarantee that older browsers will display the same page that newer browsers will, nor does it magically create a page with the perfect font sizes and colors to please everyone's preferences. That is why we have gone to lengths to make this site as accessible as possible. For example, as default we use a relatively large font size, because we have heard numerous times from clients and friends that web pages are an eyestrain because the font is too small to read.

Then again, fellow developers of ours prefer this small font size for various reasons, including that it helps them see more information at once without having to scroll down. For this reason, we have included a font-size selector at the top of each page that will allow every visitor to select a font-size according to their personal preference. Go ahead and try it out! You do need to have cookies enabled to have the font-size selector work, but don't worry about this unless it doesn't work. For those that prefer not to have cookies set, or for those that want more flexibility in font size than the two settings we provide, you may adjust the text size in your individual browsers. Internet Explorer and Firefox users click on "View" and "Text Size" to change the font size. Note: when you change the font size this way it will change for all the sites you visit until you change it back. For this reason we included a font-size selector for those that want to specify a font-size unique to this site.

Browser Compatibility

In addition to making each visitor's browsing experience as comfortable as possible, we also want to allow access to my site to the largest percentage of viewer's possible. According to browser statistics at w3schools, more than 5% of visitors to their site still use an outdated browser. And this figure is likely to be higher for visitors to the Internet as a whole. Therefore we are careful to implement our website using simple, standards compliant code, without all the scripting and Flash. While sites designed with these flashy elements may look neat, they also may not appear visible to viewers without the latest browsers and plugins. Typically sites we design and develop are viewable as intended in at least 95% of web browsers in use.

Client Reassurance

Clients can breathe easy knowing that all of these standards are implemented in their sites. For those who would like an assessment of the standards compliance and user accessibility of their site, please Contact Us.