What is Standards Based Design?
Web standards create a site where the content of the site - the text that your visitor is hungry for - is separate from the design.
Why is this important? There are many reasons. Here's a big one:
Text separate from the design is easily accessed by all kinds of visitors - those coming from their computer as well as those who may find you through their TV, PDA, or even their mobile phone.
Visitors who need to use viewing aids such as screen readers (which read out loud the content of a web page) and enlarged text get the same effective experience as all your visitors.
Universal Development
The design for your website is controlled by a master page of code, called a stylesheet. This stylesheet oversees the design for every page on your website - and it only has to be written and downloaded once.
The HTML backbone for your page is very simple. It has only the elements needed to bring information to your visitors.
Designing with web standards speeds up the process of building a page significantly. A universal location for your design means it's transferred quickly to each page and the stuff that matters most to your visitors - the content - can be placed with the care and thought it deserves.
Bandwidth Savings
Your site's stylesheet only has to be downloaded one time by a visitor to your site. It remains saved on your visitor's machine for each new visit they make. This saves you bandwidth - and as your site generates more and more traffic, this translates into saved money.
Stripping the HTML code of your website of all design elements also reduces the size of each HTML file. The files are lean little content-delivering machines. The master style sheet takes care of everything else. Again, this saves you money as your traffic steadily builds.
Seize the Day
Time is essential to everyone - every single one of your visitors. Even if they're viewing your site through a dial-up connection they'll get a speedy display with standards-based design.
The small HTML pages load quickly. The master stylesheet needs to be downloaded only once. A web page that loads quickly captures your visitor. It makes them happy because they are not kept waiting.
And a happy visitor gives you the chance to seize one more sale, one more lead, or one more opportunity.
It Just Makes Sense
Web Standards just make sense. The World Wide Web Consortium - the body that gives the recommendations making up web standards - has been created to making the net a more effective resource for everyone involved.
Following its recommendations in your design benefits everybody - especially you and your visitors. You get to talk to them, no matter how they find you.
Solid content. Stunning design. Building with web standards makes sense now and in the future.