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Many graphic designers who do not regularly do web design work may overlook the importance of web standards and this can potentially harm the durability and life of their websites. Sites that are built to meet current standards increase accessibility and long-term viability, which in turn provides a better experience for the user. If you are interested in reading more about the history of W3C validation and its importance, I recommend Pamil Visions’ article on the topic.

The best resources for these standards are the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and W3 Schools where you can find specifications, guidelines, software and tools. If you are more of a visual learner, another way that you can learn CSS compliance that is by looking at website templates. Studying premium quality templates that are CSS and W3C compliant and that have been tested and proven compatible with all major browser environments and operating systems can help you identify mistakes that you are making in your code.

Anyone can argue that web templates are inferior designs and that real designers build their websites from scratch. I tend to agree but freelancers and small businesses certainly know the advantages of building websites from previous designs that they have made. This is very similar to using a template but still far from using web templates offered online. However, premium web templates can be extremely helpful to designers as examples of clean and valid code. I’ve certainly used web templates for comparing valid code to my own. Sometimes it depends on where you find these templates, because very few online sites offer premium templates that are completely compliant with the latest W3C standards

TemplateWorld offers over 40 free valid xhtml/css templates and allows download access to many more premium templates for a fee. While browsing their templates, you can view live versions which display both xhtml and css validator links at the bottom so that you know that they are compliant. Another recommended site that offers live examples of valid code is CSS Zen Garden. The two are different in that TemplateWorld allows you to download numerous different design templates whereas Zen Garden offers one sample html file and one css file and allows users to submit their css designs. And lastly, CSS Globe and A List Apart are two other good web standards sites to check out regularly.

I highly recommend spending some time cleaning up your code and making sure that it is CSS and W3C compliant. I am currently working on validating all of the code for Dracula Vs. Eisenstein as all of the different plug-ins and third-party software can make your code very messy. If you have any favorite resources for web standards, please add them in the comments!