University of Nebraska at Omaha
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- Validation
This page's main content:
so you want validation?
Well, in case you missed it, here's our take on the importance of validation.
A website should do more than just look good—it should also meet the highest standards of usability and accessibility.
At UNO, we are committed to serving all audiences—and by adhering to established international standards for the coding of web pages, and striving to be knowledgeable of user expectation and experience, we hope to do just that.
Usability refers to a user's expectations regarding the design, placement, and operation of page elements. For instance, where do users expect a link to the home page to be located? Or, what is the shape of a button? Attention to research in the area of usability better serves the public than trying to 'reinvent' the web.
Accessibility refers to the ability of diverse users and technologies to 'read' web-based content. Toward this end, we have separated content from style and structure by using Cascading Style Sheets Positioning (CSS-P). Support for CSS is now widespread, and older, non-compliant browsers still get all the content, they just see it 'differently.'
By testing our pages against the World Wide Web Consortium's (W3C) Markup Validator, we can assure our compliance with the XHTML 1.0 Strict standard. We also use the W3C's CSS Validator. Additionally, pages are tested for 508c compliance using the Cynthia Says Portal.
Unfortunately, not all of our pages meet these standards yet, but we are working to make all of our new pages do so. Pages that display the '508,' 'XHTML,' and 'CSS' buttons in the lower-right-hand corner have been tested and have passed.
all or nothing.
Code is either valid, or it is not. If you want yours to be, and we hope you do, you'll need to become familiar with the W3C's Markup Validator — very familiar. You'll also need to make the acquaintance of Cynthia. Find the links in the 'also.' menu at the left of this page.
Now, if you're not already using the Firefox browser, you need to get it. http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/. Once you have it, you'll need to check periodically to make sure you have the most current version. You should also get (optional), and install the excellent 'web developer extension' for Firefox by Chris Pederick (includes a toolbar with many useful features for testing your site [and those of others, if you wish ;-). You'll also need to have some version of Internet Explorer for testing purposes, but it (IE) is not a standards compliant browser.
If your page is valid, and you've proven it by the W3C and Cynthia, you can place the 'badges of honor' on the lower-right-hand corner of you page by inserting the 'valid.inc'. Important: you must not use this included file unless your page has been tested, and has passed. You must also revalidate it every time you update the page. It's an added step, but one well worth it.
So here's how to insert it (just place the valid.inc before the foot.htm include), (do not copy and paste):
<div id="foot">
<div id="footwrap">
<?php require("/var/www/html/inc/06/valid.inc"); ?>
<?php require("inc/foot.htm"); ?>
</div>
</div>
</div>
