Hi, I'm developing a fairly new site that has less than 50 pages. My pages are validated HTML 4.01. Is it worth updated my code to valid XHTML? I see a lot of high ranking websites still using HTML 4.01. Maybe it's because their sites are too big to attempt to update? Or unless there is another reason? What do you think? Is it important in terms of SEO? Why would you recommend doing so? Thanks,
Doesn't mean jack shit in regards to SEO. And you're not really utilizing XHTML unless the content-type is set to application/xhtml+xml , which means 99% of pages claiming to use XHTML (that are coded in XHTML) aren't necessarily using XHTML.
I personally believe that you're better off with Valid HTML4 because XHTML is NOT going to take over HTML, in face, XHTML2 is dead in the water whereas HTML5 is moving fast. Also, almost ALL browsers still parse XHTML as bad HTML. Search engines don't seem to (and shouldn't) penalize those who haven't changed to XHTML. Why? Because their goal is to provide the INFORMATION that users want, not the information that users want in some new-fandangle format. Funnily enough, I use XHTML on many of my sites because Wordpress spews pure XHTML...
I also use XHTML because it's what I started with... but sometimes, when I'm updating/rewriting an old nasty table-site with no doctype anyway, sometimes I just set the doctype to HTML4 and try to remember not to close my tags : ) The more important thing is the "Strict" part, not the XHTML part. XHTML simply means that you can start with HTML page and if you later want to change to an XML application/page, (which IE doesn't know what to do with anyway), your page is already written properly for it. I'd rather see a site that's HTML4 strict than XHTML transistional.
i think that is worth it...here are some of the benefits A painless transition to more advanced technology The web is moving to XML, a powerfully enabling technology. Writing well–formed, valid XHTML pages is the easiest way to begin this transition. All it takes is learning a few simple rules of XHTML markup. Cleaner, more logical markup XHTML brings uniformity to document structure. The rules of XHTML help restore the structural integrity of documents that was lost during the web’s rapid commercial expansion between 1994 and 2001. This is critical for large organizations such as ours, whose web pages must interface with logically–marked–up documents in legacy systems and databases. Increased interoperability Unlike old–style HTML pages, valid, well–formed XHTML documents can easily be “transported†to wireless devices, Braille readers and other specialized web environments. Moreover, XHTML’s insistence on clean, rule–based markup helps us avoid the kind of errors that can make web pages fail even in traditional browsers like Microsoft Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator, and Opera Software’s Opera browser. Greater accessibility Because they follow strict rules and avoid non–standard markup, well–authored XHTML pages are more accessible than old–school HTML pages, helping the library comply with U.S. laws and accessibility guidelines. hopes that helps. happy new year
HTML4.01 Strict follows the same strict rules. Accessibility is in how you code-- some crappy turdpress XHTML transitional page can be written as bad as anything and sit on the web-- bad for portable devices like PDAs and mobile phones, bad for accessibility, and will also never transfer over to XML. Unless it's strict, there's no point in worrying. If your strict HTML4.01 site can't be viewed by those using Opticon's readers, your site is not valid anyway. XML is not necessary for Braile readers or screen readers. IE can't handle XML as a webpage (or so I've heard-- I don't use IE except for testing). Preparing your page for some eventual transfer to XML is fine-- so long as you don't care that up to 80% of your visitors can't view the page. Most web pages will never become an XML document.
Again, you're not using anything advanced unless you send the right content type. Else, it's treated the exact same as HTML 3.2 Sure, but you can still have semantic, logic markup when using HTML 4.01 Strict. And no wasting bytes on end tags for self closing elements. No difference if it's a clean, valid HTML 4.01 Strict page. My ass. It depends on the coder, not the doctype.
So basically from what I'm reading, the conclusion is that it doesn't really matter either way. Although it would be "nice" to change there is no evidence to suggest a "need" to at this stage.
Regardless of doctype, you should have clean, semantic markup. XHTML/HTML Strict are recommended so you don't use any presentational elements/attributes so your markup is cleaner.
This is the point. There has been a lot of useless talks about validation, your coding practices are important not the DOCTYTPE. If I were a blogger I'd have my own "invalidation badge". Get one for you at: "www.mikeindustries.com/blog/archive/2004/06/march-to-your-own-standard"
SoulScratch, Are there any benefits to using real XHTML assuming that you use the proper content-type?
The only reason I can think of using real XHTML for is to use something like MathML or other similar markup languages. Other than that, just disadvantages. The disadvantages: - IE doesn't support real XHTML. You can avoid this by content negotiation -- if the browser supports real xhtml then it is fed real xhtml, otherwise its fed fake xhtml. I think it's best to avoid a headache such as this and use real HTML instead. - 1 error and all you'll see is a big fat screen saying XML Parsing Error (anal error handling) - For legacy ECMASCripts, no support for document.write() - Requirement of CDATA marked sections for any <script> or <style> elements. <![CDATA[ // code here ]]> Here are some links if you're interested. http://www.webdevout.net/articles/beware-of-xhtml#content_type http://annevankesteren.nl/2004/08/xhtml http://www.hixie.ch/advocacy/xhtml
Thanks for the clarification. Looks like I have some reading to do. I do have one more question for you SoulScratch. I know you are a stickler for semantic HTML. Do you have some links, or suggested reading so I can learn more about Semantic Markup?
I would suggest just reading up on each and every element and its purpose at http://www.w3.org/TR/html401/ and using the right elements for the right purpose. If those are too technical then htmlhelp.com or htmldog.com. http://www.456bereastreet.com/archive/200705/use_only_blocklevel_elements_in_blockquotes/ If you follow the links from a blog such as this, you'll come across lots of useful articles about html, css, js, etc.
Awesome. Thank you very much. I've already read most of the links about xhtml, and I'm going through your sig links as well. Thanks for the help.