The Business Benefits of Web Standards

There are all sorts of best practice standards in every industry that make things better for the vendors, the client and above all the customer. Web Standards are the internationally recognised best practice system for building web sites.

The Web Standards guidelines are set down by the World Wide Web Consortium, made up of some of the creators of the Internet and World Wide Web. Designed to enable a more flexible and reasoned approach to web site building, any website can be tested using their online tools. Through the discipline of systematic structures - your website's content, look and the way it works, all benefit in usability. As the website owner, you also save money, now and in the future.

COST SAVINGS

Easier maintenance

  • The design is not tied to the content
  • Maintenance can be preformed by any web designer with knowledge of web standards
  • Faster site maintenance means more value for money

Search engine optimisation (SEO)

  • Web standards-based code is by its nature more search engine friendly with its logical use of headings, links, etc, and tidy code.

Reduced bandwidth

  • The look of your website and the way it works are stored in the browser's memory and don't need to be constantly re-loaded
  • Larger sites can literally save gigabytes in bandwidth
  • Smaller file sizes load faster

BETTER END USER EXPERIENCES

Enhanced user experience

  • Faster loading pages "feel" more trustworthy
  • Consistency of design across your website, as one file holds the information for the look of your website

Enhanced accessibility

  • Web standard sites are more accessible to users with mobile devices such as PDA's and mobile phones
  • Web standard sites are more accessible to users with disabilities. For example, people with vision impairments who may be using screen readers.
  • Web standards have been created with accessibility in mind

Future friendly

  • Platform independence: works on correctly on all major browsers
  • More browser makers are building to web standards.

Building your site with web standards ensures that in the long term you can save your company money and even increase website related income.

If you're planning a website, you may want to read about the New Zealand government's web standards strategy.