#21536
Character Entities in HTML and XHTML
This area includes a variety of references and tools such as: reference charts; important articles; and helpful tools.
#21526
The WaSP Dreamweaver Task Force was created in 2001 to accomplish two tasks of vital importance: To work with Macromedia’s engineers to improve the standards compliance and accessibility of web pages produced with Macromedia Dreamweaver, the market-leading professional visual web editor and development tool. Detailed objectives are listed below. This part of the group’s mission was largely fulfilled with the release in May 2002 of Dreamweaver MX, though the Task Force will continue to work with Macromedia as the company fine-tunes subsequent versions of its product. To communicate effectively within the online Dreamweaver community, raising awareness of web standards and helping others discover how their tools can be used to create standards-compliant, accessible sites. This work will continue indefinitely and is a key component of WaSP’s developer education outreach program.
Web Standards Project. Organizations>Web Design>Standards>Dreamweaver
#21537
The following resources provide a quick link to numerous WaSP and other resources related to web standards.
#21535
Legal Color Names in HTML 4 and XHTML
There are sixteen (16) legal color names for use in HTML 4.x and XHTML. Any other color name is a browser-specific name and cannot be used in conforming HTML 4.x and XHTML documents.
#25354
The Web Standards Project (WaSP) fights for standards that reduce the cost and complexity of development while increasing the accessibility and long-term viability of any site published on the Web.
#32960
This article highlights the benefits of using Web standards for business sites (Internet, intranet and extranet sites). It is aimed at stakeholders from the marketing, communication and IT departments.
Nonnenmacher, François. Web Standards Project (2003). Articles>Web Design>Standards
#34000
What Are Web Standards and Why Should I Use Them?
Standards have so much to offer that we at The Web Standards Project (WaSP) consider it necessary to help you learn more about them. This document is merely a starting point; it will give you a solid understanding of what standards exist, why they do, and why you should care about them. Every time we create a piece of the Web, we contribute to the common information space that is the Web. We can build it up, or we can add weight that will tear it apart. The choice belongs to us; the consequences belong to everyone.
Web Standards Project (2009). Articles>Web Design>Standards>Education
#34001
Forms are often the most tricky aspect of web development for beginners to get their head around, largely because it means stepping out of the comfort zone of one-way information - no longer are you simply presenting information at the person viewing your site, now you are asking for input, for feedback that you have to process in some way. And just as it may be difficult for HTML beginners to understand just how they handle form data, so is it difficult to understand some of the issues relating to accessibility.
Lloyd, Ian. Web Standards Project (2004). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility>Forms
#34002
Common Ideas Between HTML and XHTML
As of this writing, HTML and XHTML are both being used to create Web sites. But there are multiple versions of each, with specific changes and ideas attached. The following table shows the current W3C HTML and XHTML recommendations of note.
Web Standards Project (2004). Articles>Web Design>HTML>XHTML
#34003
Current Browsers and the User Agent Accessibility Guidelines 1.0
Any effort on the part of web authors to add accessibility features is rendered useless if browsers and assistive technologies don’t take advantage of them. User agent developers need to ensure that their products support these features and, most crucially, make them available to users in an accessible and obvious manner. What follows is a quick run-down of most of UAAG’s guidelines and checkpoints, annotated with comments, suggestions, personal gripes about current levels of implementation, and wishlists for future browser versions.
Lauke, Patrick H. Web Standards Project (2009). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility>Web Browsers
#34005
Browser Problems with the XML Prolog
Some browsers have difficulty upon encountering the XML Prolog. In some cases, the browser will render all the markup as text. In other cases, when a browser has some XML support, it might attempt to render the document as an XML tree. To avoid these problems, many practicing web professionals prefer to leave the prolog off. This table will help you make that decision by showing you which browsers have known problems with the XML prolog.
Web Standards Project (2007). Articles>Web Design>Standards>XML
#34006
HTML Versus XHTML: Which Should We Use, and Why?
HTML 4.01 is as valuable as XHTML 1.0 in a daily usage. The syntax proposed by XHTML 1.0 has several important benefits. The weight of these benefits has to be evaluated in the context of your project: Use the right tool for the right job. For a Web designer, starting to use XHTML 1.0 will be helpful in some circumstances and will certainly help you to smoothly negotiate the future. XHTML 1.0 gives a wonderful opportunity to learn about XML languages and their possibilities without having to learn new semantics because you’re working with familiar tags and attributes.
Web Standards Project (2005). Articles>Web Design>HTML>XHTML
