Founded in 1994 by Tim-Berners Lee, original architect of The World Wide Web, its purpose is to develop interoperable technologies (specifications, guidelines, software and tools) to lead the web to its full potential.
Many websites do not comply with validation standards and guidelines, while many webmasters do not give importance to validate with W3C (World Wide Web Consortium).
There are varying thoughts and reasons for this, the main being that W3C validation or conforming to the guidelines and standards is not a requirement. Yes, this is true – however, what also holds true is that by validating your website, it does have its advantages.
By getting your website validated, it shows your commitment in ensuring that your website conforms to web standard guidelines, is cross operable and is more accessible to a wider range of users.
Furthermore, Search Engine Spiders check every website they visit for W3C validation and if they are present on a website, that make them “preferable” compared to the rest. Validation make your website more “friendly” to search engines. A website built to conform with W3C validation often does have significantly higher results.
The W3C Validator is free for public use and can be found here.
Feel free to add your comments, share your views and experiences, post your questions – ultimately for the betterment of the World Wide Web.
