| Browser Adherence to Web Standards |
Internet browser software does not always adhere to web standards......and often standards are only partially implemented.
The standards for building and displaying web pages on the World Wide Web are, more often than not, only recommendations and are not enforced. The display of these web pages are, however, handled by the layout engines of web browsers (i.e. Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, Chrome, Opera, Flock, Maxthon, etc.) and therefore any implementation of of standards (or lack of), by the browsers has an effect on display. Whilst the standards aim to ensure conformity between the different browsers in order that pages are displayed the same across all browsers, each browser has implemented different aspects of the standards, to varying degrees, and at different times over the years. Some browsers were early adopters of the standards (Firefox) and others have been slow to implement them (Internet Explorer). Different Browsers display differentlyAs a result, in order to ensure that web pages display properly across different browsers, website designers and developers need to be mindful of not only the concepts and recommendations as set out in the standards, but also of the level of adoption of those standards by the various browser vendors, their products and the different version numbers of these products. To understand the current situation, it is worthwhile to be aware of the situations that lead to not only the introduction of standards and their implementation, but also of the current players in the market place. This is covered in the another article; "The Browser Wars". What this means for website designers & developersSo what this means is that not only should website designers and developers, design, program, and build in keeping with the standards, but they will need to address the problem of inconsistencies between the renderings of web pages by different browsers and browser versions. This necessitates either time-consuming double/multiple coding of pages, or coding only for a single browser (a short cut that some developers take). The later option makes it harder, if not impossible, for some of the public to view the site as it was intended, or in some cases, actually use the site. The situation of multiple coding is made even more relevant, and potentially problematic, with the advent of additional hardware and software that is used browse the Web, such as mobile phones, pagers, and PDAs. Forward & backward compatibilityMost web standards are generally designed with forward and backward compatibility in mind; so that websites developed using old versions of the standards will continue to work in new browsers, and that websites using new versions of the standards will “gracefully degrade” to produce an acceptable result in older browsers. Whilst that is the idea, it is not always the case; as older browser versions with either incomplete, or little implementation of the standards, simply do not degrade gracefully (i.e. Internet Explorer 6, which is also no longer supported by it’s maker, Microsoft). What the standards mean for the futureThe universal adoption of web standards is becoming of paramount importance. The mission of The Web Standards Project is to make the Web a better place, for developers and for end-users, by encouraging browser and web page editor makers to follow the standards in their applications. This effort is greatly helped when web developers use the standards as a matter of course, and as a group, insist that generators and renderers of their code comply with the standards. For the developer, writing web pages in accordance with the standards not only shortens site development time, it also makes the pages easier to maintain (i.e. debugging and troubleshooting become easier, because the code follows a standard). Full implemention of the standards by the browser vendors would mean that developers no longer have to worry about the coding and maintenance of several versions of files that are used to accomplish the same presentation across different browsers. It would mean one version of your site files, and that is it!
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