HTML/CSS Validation Links/Buttons

Question

Is there a reason many websites place a small link/button to the W3C CSS/HTML validation of the respective site or is this just a weird practice that caught on?

Answer 1

Well, it's just like why corporations want to display their ISO certifications wherever they can, on the name cards, website etc.

Answer 2

So people can show off the fact that they've spent time complying with standards.

Complying with standards can be useful, as it helps ensure that your page will work across browsers. But very frequently there's no reward for spending the time getting your page to validate, and validators are a lot pickier than they really need to be to ensure interoperability. So, some people find it nice to stick a little badge on their page indicating that it validates, to show off the work they've done.

It's really not all that useful to stick a validation badge on your page, and a large number of the pages I've seen the badge on don't actually validate (as they stuck that badge on before they made changes, or they have an error that allows an & to come through unquoted), so you're pretty much right, it's just a weird little practice.

Answer 3

Validation just shows that you took time to ensure that the webpage adheres to the standard, as specified in your DOCTYPE.

Ideally every page should validate, but that is very much not the exception.

For some companies it is to avoid lawsuits, as there is a standard for blind people, so, if you don't pass their validation then you can be sued.

Here is a link about ADA compliance: http://www.icdri.org/CynthiaW/is_%20yoursite_ada_compliant.htm

You may want look here for more reasons: http://www.clfsrpm.net/w3c-validator/docs/why.html

Basically, if you want to do something, you might as well learn to do it right and pass the validation.

Answer 4

Maybe it's a consciousness-raising move by the developer to belatedly right the wrong done by all those rubbish 'Best viewed in Netscape Navigator 4' type of pseudo-disclaimers you used to get all the time.

Answer 5

It should be noted that there is no "standard", there are only "recommendations", which are not strictly followed by anyone. Besides, validator marks a lot of useless things as errors (such as missing "alt" attribute). And it doesn't guarantee anything related to how your website is displayed, it only guarantees that the syntax of your html is valid (you can easily "break" the recommendations with your code still being validated perfectly).

In my opinion it's mostly used in the same way as "Web 2.0" term: to show off. It doesn't really mean anything.