Is HTML Validation Necessary?

by Jonathan Hochman

HTML validation is a process that uses a program to inspect web pages and identify bugs and potential compatibility issues, such as improperly nested HTML tags, obsolete tags, and misused attributes. The World Wide Web Consortium provides a free online HTML validator, and popular HTML editors often include a validation feature.

One of my favorite buttons in Dreamweaver is "Validate Entire Site." It's quick and easy, and saves a huge amount of time on web site maintenance. Why review code by hand when you can use a program to instantly detect coding errors? Programs always contain mistake and debugging them can take a long time. Validation cuts the debugging time substantially, and that time saved can be spent to improve the site.

Just because a site renders properly on your browser doesn't mean it works on a new version of the browser, on a mobile phone, or the next time Google decides to update their spider. Validated code often loads faster and is less "brittle," so when you, or somebody else, makes a little change, things don't fall apart.

The power of the World Wide Web is that everybody can share information no matter what kind of computer of software they choose. By validating your code, you can help make the Web operate more smoothly, while saving time, and increasing the useful life of your web site.

About the Author

After graduating from Yale with two degrees in Computer Science, Jonathan Hochman set up his own consulting company in 1990. He has been an Internet marketer since 1994. To send feedback, please visit http://www.hochmanconsultants.com/.

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