On the Uniting Power of a Commitment to HTML Conformance
Published on Oct 18, 2023 (updated Jan 9, 2024), filed under development, html, conformance (feed). (Share this on Mastodon or Bluesky?)
HTML is the language of the Web. No matter what other languages are being used, in the end it all boils down to content and functionality being represented by HTML.
Unfortunately, our field, the field of web and frontend development, doesnât commit to any quality standardâthat is, expectationâfor HTML.
Itâs not that no such standard existedâarguably, the baseline is conformance with the HTML specificationâ, itâs that this standard is being ignored.
This isnât hyperbole: When you validateâcheck on conformanceâthe most popular websites, none (0) uses valid and conformant HTML.
Itâs similar for websites for frontend documentation, tools, and starter projects.
Even when you turn to the websites of web developers, itâs the exception, and not the rule, that there would be no conformance issues.
The reason for this misery is not the point of this articleâapart from myself, several of our peers have long hypothesized about this in other fora.
The point is also not that we miss what this lack of a quality standard means for the value of our fieldâthat instead of increasing it, we deflate it.
The point is that we miss an exceptional opportunity to unite behind it.
Imagine, just for a moment, if we as web and frontend developers would all produce conformant websites, and all ran conformant websites.
âThis document was successfully checked as HTML,â as the W3C validator says.
This, for once, could be uniting; it could get us from indifferent or apologetic ignorance to mutual respect and healthy pride of being a member of our field.
It could allow us to tackle more serious challengesâlike pushing harder on accessibilityâwith collective vigor.
That unity, that feeling, is something our field has always lacked. Can we finally change this? Can we finally convince our peers? (Are you on board?)
Together, we could lead by example, together we could establish our fieldâs first quality standardâan objective and proven, a light but robust foundation that we, as professional frontend developers, can build on.
Commit to HTML conformance. Make sure your HTML output is actual, error-free HTML. Make use of validators and validation packages andâvalidate.
About Me
Iâm Jens (long: Jens Oliver Meiert), and Iâm a web developer, manager, and author. Iâve been working as a technical lead and engineering manager for companies youâve never heard of and companies you use every day, Iâm an occasional contributor to web standards (like HTML, CSS, WCAG), and I write and review books for OâReilly and Frontend Dogma.
I love trying things, not only in web development and engineering management, but also in other areas like philosophy. Here on meiert.com I share some of my experiences and views. (I value you being critical, interpreting charitably, and giving feedback.)