When I think of standards on the web, myself being a business student I automatically think of the W3C. The W3C is an international industry consortium dedicated to leading the web to its fullest potential. Tim Berners-Lee the inventor of the web is in charge of the consortium, it has more than 330 member organizations, including Microsoft and Apple Computers. The W3C develops open specifications to enhance the interoperability of Web-related products.
There are many advantages of using web standards; firstly for people it provides accessibility. This doesn't just mean allowing the web to be available to those who have disabilities, but allowing all web pages to be understood by people who use different browsers. This browser may be voice related which read web pages out loud for people with sight impairments or even browsers that translate text into Braille.
Web Standards also create a sense of stability, as they are designed with forward and backward compatibility in mind so that data using old versions of the standards will continue to work in new browsers. Also the data using new versions of the standards will work in the old browsers. Web standards make it easier for those who work designing websites, as web standards offer a set of rules that every web developer can follow and understand.
In terms of software, web standards gives web pages greater visibility in web searches. Standards make it easier for both the server-side and the client side of software to understand the structure of the document. These standards are written to ensure that old browsers can understand the basics structure of the user's documents, even if there have been changes and additions made, the content will be visible in its simplest form.
The adoption of web standards is becoming more and more important; the number of people that use the web is increasing on a daily basis. Therefore people are constantly trying to make the web a better place for, web developers and of course the end user.
Below is a link about a person who suffered because of the lack of web standards.
http://www.hreoc.gov.au/disability_rights/decisions/comdec/2000/DD000200.htm
Enjoy Reading J
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