Why Web Standards: Building a Better Web through Education and Practice

Why Web Standards
Building a Better Web through Education and Practice

An Open Letter to Business, Industry and Education (including Students)

From: Leon Adkison Ph.D, Professor Mark DuBois and the World Organization of Webmasters

The Internet and the World Wide Web have had a dramatic impact on business, industry, and education. This impact and its effects are continuing to expand throughout the world. Because of that, Websites today must accurately represent individuals and organizations across multiple platforms, devices, and browsers and they must do this in an environment that is both secure and readily accessible. The World Organization of Webmasters (WOW), a 12-year-old, not-for-profit organization, is striving to educate and train both individuals and organizations in the creation, maintaining and management of Websites in an effective and efficient manner.

Today’s business, education, and government entities require standards for Web design and development in terms of page and site maintenance, content management, and overall management. Many websites are excellent – both in design and adherence to standards. However, many sites are cluttered, challenging for customers to use and navigate, and difficult to manage. Many studies report that 50 percent of all websites are fundamentally flawed in security. Unfortunately, we experienced similar problems in computer-related system development as early as the 1960s.

There are three simple criteria that need to be considered: 1) systems should meet requirements, 2) be developed on time, and 3) be developed within budget. Regretfully, only 25 percent meet each of the criteria; 50 percent fail in one, two, or all three; and the remaining 25 percent are begun but not completed. These trends have been noted, with much the same results, for many years. WOW is dedicated to seeing that these results do not continue for Website design, development, and management.

This trend of organized chaos must not be allowed to be repeated. Therefore, two things need to occur. First, there should be an agreement by all those directly involved in the creation and dissemination of content on the Web that standards are necessary. Business, education, and government must agree that it is in their best interest to uphold these Web standards. Lacking this agreement, the Web will continue its current development path where only 25 percent of Web-related projects meet requirements and are developed on time and on budget. An area of such global importance cannot continue to pay the price with such inefficiency! If all entities can agree on the need for recognized standards, a major part of the goal will be reached.

Second, business, industry, government and education must work together on these standards. In a society of technological advancements, progress does not occur if personal agendas are the guiding force. WOW began this organizational process through its involvement with business and industry, practitioners and various government and educational entities. We are well on the way and welcome the challenges set forth by the next generation of web professionals!

In its work with industry, education and government sectors, WOW has introduced educational career pathways for aspiring and practicing Web professionals. WOW’s Web Professional Career Pathways and Student Learning Objectives (SLOs) set the standard for Web professional education resources and best practices in Web Design and Development. Through its National Web Design and Developments contests, WOW has been able to engage thousands of secondary and post-secondary students throughout the U.S. to set the stage for best practices in a real work environment. These practices include work-force readiness and the soft skills that are in demand for professionals in this field.

For Education and Government:

With these standards established, education at all levels, from junior high through graduate school, can utilize and build upon these standards to achieve a better grasp and understanding of the future. Based on this platform of understanding, students and educators alike will have a much better understanding of the knowledge and skills required of the profession and careers in Web development. As educators and government agencies, we need to prepare students for the rigors of an increasingly competitive job market.

For Educators and Students:

WOW surveys note that attention to detail is an issue of major importance. How often do we encounter broken links or pointers to images in a Web document? Simply testing a Web document and its links prior to making it publicly available is a best-practice standard that often is overlooked.

Web professionals can (and should) always be learning and improving their craft. As aspiring professionals, it is permissible to state that they do not know the answer to a given question but would like to find out more details. During a recent WOW-sponsored competition for web design and development, judges observed that fewer than 10 percent of the participants took that approach when presented with a complex question or problem. The remaining 90-plus percent tried to guess their way through without success.

On the technical side, during the same competition, it was observed that there was a heavy reliance upon tools such as Adobe Dreamweaver CS3. (It was used by over more than 85 percent of all participants). This use of tools is acceptable provided there is a clear understanding of the underlying structure and terminology required to accomplish the task. However, it is evident that there is only a superficial knowledge of this underlying structure, which results in numerous programming and logic errors. Likewise, reliance on templates (such as the Spry framework for the JavaScript challenge) is permissible, but one participants should definitely test this prior to submitting to the Web.

WOW’s experience while working with numerous business and industry professionals shows that they are seeking to hire individuals who have a solid understanding of Web standards and can use these tools to effectively create and publish Web-related projects. These working Web professionals demand that prospective employees have a good understanding of accessibility, usability and security. Therefore, WOW implores those educating the next generation of Web professionals to focus on the following areas to better prepare students for working in this demanding and extremely competitive field.

Students must have:

*an in-depth, solid understanding and working knowledge of web standards and why standards are important;

*a platform of increased emphasis on accessibility and usability of Web sites in the curriculum;

* soft skills;

*an emphasis on professional ethics such as arriving to work on time, admitting when you they don’t know something, obtaining the knowledge to complete the task at hand and proofing and testing their your work before it is turned in as a completed assignment;

*a solid understanding of the use of the appropriate tools and when one must go beyond a given tool.

Creativity and attention to detail must go hand in hand. It is up to us as educators to raise the bar to help our students succeed in the workplace.

Conclusion:

Today’s Web sites must accurately represent individuals and organizations across multiple platforms, devices, and browsers and they must do this in an environment that is both secure and readily accessible. Additionally, the design, development, and maintenance of these Web sites need to be done in a timely manner and on within budget. The only feasible way that this can be accomplished is with the implementation of Web standards in all aspects of Web-related activity in business, industry, and the classroom.

Additional Resources

On benefits of careers in the Web profession

Web Standards Links and Resources

CSS1 W3C Specification (original)
CSS1 W3C Specification (1999 revision)
CSS2 W3C Specification
CSS3 W3C working draft
Section 508
Validators
Web Accessibility Initiative
Web Standards Project (WaSP)
World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)
WOW Featured Article – Implementing Web Standards In The Enterprise
Why Web Standards