Web Standards

Presentation and documentation are online @

http://www.uwplatt.edu/web/webstandards

• Concept of Web Standards
• Concept of DIV "skeleton" structure
• Concept of CSS "skins" markup
• Reasons to make the switch
• What non-web designers need to know

Web Recommendations Standards

• XHTML 1.0 or higher
• CSS Level 1 & CSS Level 2
• DOM Level 1 & DOM Level 2
• ECMAScript 262 (current JavaScript)

http://www.webstandards.org/about/

"The Extensible HyperText Markup Language (XHTML™) is a family of current and future document types and modules that reproduce, subset, and extend HTML, reformulated in XML. XHTML Family document types are all XML-based, and ultimately are designed to work in conjunction with XML-based user agents. XHTML is the successor of HTML, and a series of specifications has been developed for XHTML.

http://www.w3.org/MarkUp/

• Declare the DOCTYPE
• Tag and attributes in lower case
• Attributes must have quoted values
• All tags must have an end tag (<br />)
• Nest tags correctly
• Validate the page (http://validator.w3.org)

• More Accessible
• Eliminates silly mistakes in code
• Renders more accurately in browsers
• Backward AND forward compatible
• First step toward Web Standards

• XHTML 1.0 Transitional
• XHTML 1.0 Strict
• XHTML 1.1
• XHTML 2.0 (W3C Working Draft)

No more development of HTML!

Table Design

• Tables can build a nice layout
• Tables are predictable

However,

• Tables bloat the code
• Can we eliminate tables?

"Tables should not be used purely as a means to layout document content as this may present problems when rendering to non-visual media. Additionally, when used with graphics, these tables may force users to scroll horizontally to view a table designed on a system with a larger display. To minimize these problems, authors should use style sheets to control layout rather than tables."

http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/struct/tables.html#h-11.1

• DIVs can be an alternate to <table>
• DIVs are a container like a table cell
• CSS can position the DIV

<div id="article">xxx</div>

#article{ width:250px;
padding:5px; float:right;}

Use DIVs to create the skeleton of the page.

• There should be no display-specific information in the XHTML
• The Goal: separate the information from the layout / presentation of the page
• Layout is entirely controlled by CSS

Identify major sections of the page

• Masthead (Logo and Title)
• Menu
• Content
• Search
• Footer

Don't overuse the DIVs!
Don't worry about positioning in the XHTML!

• Learning curve of DIV
• Future of browsers is uncertain
• WYSIWYG Editors

• The skin is the design placed over the skeleton structure
• It's like a cell phone
  • Model of phone is the skeleton
  • Face plates are the skins
  • You can swap face plates

• Like a cell phone, web pages can have "face plates" (skins) that are changeable
• The CSS skins have nothing to do with the XHTML markup
  
• External CSS file
• Easily modifiable
• Faster Redesign

• XHTML DIVs are like the parts of the phone (antenna, buttons, speaker, etc.)
• Layout CSS is like the different models of phones (where parts are positioned)
• Skin CSS is like the face plates

The best example showing the power of CSS skinning!

http://www.csszengarden.com

Web Standards don't have to be ugly!

Style sheets for a skinnable website:

1. Base CSS - simple structure
2. Advanced CSS - final structure @import
3. Skin CSS - design/presentation @import
4. Fonts CSS
5. Printer Friendly CSS

• Setting the stage for forward AND backward compatibility
• @import - fix non-standard browsers
• Layout CSS separate from Skin
• Fonts can now be adjusted quickly
• Printer Friendly without the hassle!

It's just too cool!

In 1995, Al Gore coined the phrase:

"Information Superhighway"
NOT
"Design Superhighway"

http://www.nortropic.com/lis341/cgold/superway.html

• Web is about delivering information
• Design must be secondary
• You cannot control what user agent will open the page, so you must be ready
• Backward and forward compatibility is essential

• Compliant with older browser without having to make a separate set of pages
• Design fails gracefully - It's not pretty, but the information is there!

• More compliant user agents get better designed / presented information
• Not committed to one platform / browser
• Ready for what the future brings
  • PDA
  • Cell phone
  • TV
  • Screenreaders

Using web standards saves on bandwidth

• Code reduction with limited markup provides cleaner and simpler code
• CSS files are cached

Slashdot is a well known site:

• Copied the index on July 22, 2003
• HTML 3.2 code
• Table driven design

There are four stages (folders):

• Original file as of July 22, 2003
• XHTML with no markup
• Re-structured XHTML - identify data
• Web Standards Version

Additional information and example zip file is online at: http://www.uwplatt.edu/web/webstandards/slashdot.html

Actual savings per page:

• Without caching CSS: ~2KB
• With caching CSS: ~9KB

That's not a lot, however it adds up!

Slashdot serves 80 million pages a month, which is ~31 pages per second.

(http://slashdot.org/faq/slashmeta.shtml#sm300)

Savings per day:

• Without caching CSS: ~5.1 GB
• With caching CSS: ~22.8 GB

Last Modified: 7/12/04

• Over two years ago... we made the leap.
• Saved a few KB, and thought "big deal."
• Network team PANICKED because of unexpected drop in server load.
• Everyone is much happier / wiser now!

Web Development student rebuilt Epic Systems

• Redesigning just the front page of Epic would
  • Reduce bandwidth by 3.16 GB per month
  • Cash savings of $758.40 yearly (main page only)
• Projected savings for re-building all of Epic:
  $38,400 per year
• The site is now Web Accessible, when it wasn't before!
• Additional information is located at: http://www.vizjerai.com/redesign/index.html

Global Statistics

Object Size Totals

Global Statistics

Object Size Totals

Global Statistics

Object Size Totals

Global Statistics

Object Size Totals

Global Statistics

Object Size Totals

Global Statistics

Object Size Totals

Non web designers can be Advocates

You may not touch code, but what about your decisions?

• Vendor contracts & software purchases
• Content management & database systems
• Web sub-contractors
• Staffing decisions

• There is lots of information online
  • A List Apart
  • Jeffrey Zeldman
  • Eric Meyer
  • Campus Web Council of Wisconsin Reference Links
• Web Accessibility for All - Hosts a movie of the Web Standards presentation
• Can always encourage them to email me: frommelt@uwplatt.edu

Web Standards is a journey

Not a quick fix, so don't expect it

Major benefits:

• Forward / Backward compatible
• Bandwidth savings
• Easier transitions for future updates
• Printer Friendly!

• WebDev Share Presenter 2003
• Met Jeffrey Zeldman, A List Apart
• Asked to write "Retooling Slashdot"
• Which immediately got "Slashdotted"

Understanding Web Standards

Presentation and documentation are online @

http://www.uwplatt.edu/web/webstandards

Email: frommelt@uwplatt.edu

Copyright Daniel M. Frommelt, 2005. This work is the intellectual property of the author. Permission is granted for this material to be shared for non-commercial, educational purposes, provided that this copyright statement appears on the reproduced materials and notice is given that the copying is by permission of the author. To disseminate otherwise or to republish requires written permission from the author.