Valid XHTML

This website conforms to the XHTML v1.0 Transitional standard.

We always strive to use standards-compliant (X)HTML and CSS for the majority our web projects for a number of reasons…

Accessibility

Standards-compliant web sites are more likely to score well in accessibility tests, since a greater number of browsers and screen readers will be able to understand them. (More about this on the accessibility page.)

Future-proofing

As technology advances, the importance of internationally agreed standards becomes greater and greater. This fact is reflected in the prevailing software environment where systems are increasingly built to utilise such standards. Therefore by coding our websites to the standards layed down by the W3C, we are increasing the likelyhood that our web systems remain useful for as long as possible.

Search engine optimisation

Well-formed, standards-compliant markup, utilising HTML's built-in semantic elements, allows search engines to 'understand' the text of a web page much more clearly. This, in turn, allows the pages to be associated with more relevant search terms than would otherwise be the case.

Caveat — Pragmatism

As any web developer/designer will tell you, however, striving for standards-compliance can sometimes be a painstaking and time-consuming task, especially where there is a strong desire to achieve certain other design goals, such as a particularly pretty layout. Therefore we are always pragmatic, concentrating on being standards-compliant where it really matters, but occasionally letting it slip where doing so allows us to be more creative.