Why Is Clean Mark Up Important In Web Development?

The web, as anyone who works in web development or design will tell you, is an ever-changing phenomenon; so much so, that it can be easy to fall behind whenever something new is introduced. By utilizing clean mark up and following the proper web standards, however, you can help to prevent yourself from falling too far behind (if at all).

So, what does it actually mean to have ‘clean’ mark up? Surely it’s not a physical thing that you can run a bath for whenever you feel it’s getting ‘dirty’? Of course not! Basically, clean mark up means that the languages you use as a part of your web development process are free of clutter, are standards compliant, and utilize the appropriate tags and structures. In this respect, clutter free refers to the removal of needless attributes and the proper organization and structure of documents. Also in this respect, standards compliant refers to the pages of your website being validated with the standards that the W3C have laid out.

“But my web development department is swamped and clean, standards compliant mark up takes longer to complete – if it’s working, isn’t that all that matters?”

This is the mantra repeated by many in the industry, and there is plenty of truth to this statement – clients are often quite demanding, wanting their website launched yesterday, which puts many web developers and designers under the pump to get projects finished as soon as possible. But what you must also take into account is that, whilst your sloppy mark up is working now, who’s to say it will be three years down the track? And what about the search engines? Do you think they’re going to reward your pitiful web development work with good rankings? Definitely not. Whilst it may seem easier to make your mark up a little dirtier in order to get the project finished faster, doing it right the first time will save you a lot of time and money in the future.

The next time your web development team is working on a project, ensure that they utilize clean standards compliant mark up. Not only will this prevent you from falling behind when new technologies and advancements are introduced to the web; it will save you a lot of time and money in the future (should another web developer ever have to sift through your sloppy coding if you quit). Just because it’s working doesn’t mean that you’re job is finished.