Using the web standards of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) means that your
pages use a valid code and that you separate content and presentation by using
style sheets. This means that sites are generally less voluminous, have faster
loading time, are better accessible for visitors and are easier to maintain.
By applying the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0, your site is more
accessible to all, including people with disabilities and the elderly. You will
more easily comply with accessibility legislation in an increasing number of
countries worldwide.
• By using a valid code that also complies with the Web Content Accessibility
Guidelines 1.0, sites mostly work on multiple platforms and in different browsers.
In that case there is no need to make separate sites for different browsers
and platforms. This can significantly reduce your costs of developing a
website.
• By separating content from presentation, web pages are more easily accessible,
files are smaller and load faster. On Dutch government sites, a volume reduction
of up to 60% was achieved by using a validated and accessible code. This can
significantly reduce the cost for server load and bandwidth;
• By using valid code and complying with the Web Content Accessibility
Guidelines 1.0, it is generally easier and less expensive to change a website.
Examples: changing the look-and-feel of a website only requires the adaptation
of the relevant style sheet without having to change the content. By storing
the content separately will also allow you to use content for another website
and for other media like mobile phone, PDA etc;
• Search engine robots that access your site can be considered to be handicapped;
complex scripts and other inaccessible aspects of a website may prohibit access.
Accessible sites are indexed faster and provide optimal results.
• By reducing the volume of pages, loading times are shorter, so visitors
will spend less time waiting for pages to appear on their screen. This can increase
the number of pages users can visit at the same time. If you have an internet
store this can be a very valuable aspect;
• The site will load in most older and new browsers, but also in text browsers
etc. This means that more people can use your site;
• By reducing the size of the pages, your site will be available longer
and load faster in case of emergency when many people try to reach a site;
• Now that many countries implement laws to enforce the WCAG 1.0 guidelines
for accessibility, your site will be able to meet almost all country or
region-specific accessibility standards.
• WCAG 1.0 standards are internationally accepted and drawn up with input
from all stakeholders, including the companies that make the browsers. Standardization
more or less guarantees your website's usability in the future. The standards
are well explained on the W3C website and, in most cases, it is easy to test
these standards for compliance;
• If you use WCAG 1.0 techniques for your website, maintenance and development
will be easier in the future. The code and structure of the site is easier to
pass on to internal and external developers, thus providing a good technical
basis for the work;
• The techniques used for one website can be applied to others. This
is extra attractive because of the standardization, guaranteeing compliance
of your techniques in the future and making them usable for other modalities
and platforms. Examples are use of your website on a mobile phone or PDA.
