CSS Validation—Why It Matters (or Not)
February 6th, 2010
W3C Validators
We know about the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Validation Service. Submit a site’s URL and get graded on valid HTML and/or CSS mark-up:
- pass, and you get to put a W3C validation banner on the site. (Not dissimilar to gold star stickers on a kindergartener’s bumblebee.)
- fail, and you get not only the opportunity to fIx the errors—but the actual answers! (Much like an open-book exam in a pass/fail class—with page number included!)
Pretty much a win/win scenario, speaking grade-wise.
Yes, But…Grading Was On a Curve
I was never much a fan of grading on a curve. Didn’t like getting my grade diluted. (Yeah, I was that student.)
Still don’t like curve grading.
You see, current W3C validators ride the curve. They’re a.v.e.r.a.g.e. Lagging behind technology. Sure, egregious errors pop up and let you know what to repair. But the validators don’t recognize CSS3 rules. Run a few border-radius and text-shadow rules by them and watch the red ink flow! Heinz 57! on this site.
Damn—now I’m at the other end of that blasted curve! Curves…phlbbt!
Validation is Only a ‘Suggestion’
Like that line in “Pirates of the Caribbean”. Right now, Valid CSS = Old CSS. Don’t know about you, but I’m a happy camper that ‘good’ browsers (coughNotIEcough) allow for all sorts of CSS options that improve visuals, performance and ease of development. What’s that term I keep seeing? Oh, yeah…
Progressive Enhancement (is not valid)
Keywords above are ‘progressive’ and ‘enhancement’.
- Progressive:
- 1. Moving forward; proceeding onward; advancing; evincing progress; increasing; as, progressive motion or course; —opposed to retrograde.
- Enhancement:
- 1. To make greater, as in value, beauty, or effectiveness; augment.
- 2. To provide with improved, advanced, or sophisticated features: computer software enhanced with cutting-edge functionalities.
I can live without validation from the W3C.
Validation That Matters
A recent site of mine received another kind of validation—also with a banner! This validation/recognition is the type of which I’m proud, because it speaks to my design skills more than my coding skills:
The awards were created to acknowledge the creativity, innovation and talent among the best designers, studios, and agencies of the world through their websites. Websites are selected for the Site of the Day and Site of the Month by our international panel of judges using a strict valuation system…
(I am, after all, a designer/developer.) The ‘judging’ is done by real people, not code scrapers—always a plus! I’d like to think that the site’s design rating is (at least partially!) helped by the logo. The Eye Styles logo was also designed by moi. Read about that process here.
Fingers Crossed
Now awards aren’t the be-all and end-all. They’re little spots of happiness. I am hoping this little spot will get bigger by winning a site of the day award! We’ll see.
Stay tuned. I’ll keep you posted.
Status Update
Not a daily winner. :(
That’s OK. Got a couple other sites in the works. Having fun with CSS3. Going to have a go with more transitions soon!
