All feedback appreciated..

[AWTS]

Not terribly, depends what's being affected.

I'll have to disagree on this one I'm afraid. Adhering to published formal grammars is part and parcel of Standards Compliance. A compliant site is more easily interpreted correctly by a wider range of UAs. But for me, the big plus - as ever - is that a compliant site is easier to access by users with a whole spectrum of disabilities and their AT.

One thing - there were others - that really disappointed me with WCAG 2.0 was its non-inclusion of the requirement that documents should validate. I will never, for the life of me, understand why it was dropped.

[Indizine]

it's not the be all and end all, though the badge is nice, 99.9% percent of 6 billion websites do not comply even the major top websites, government websites and so on do not comply.

Currently there is no clear law on accessibility despite there being a number of 'standards'.

When the parents start practising what they preach, their kids might do likewise

PS did you know that screen readers cannot read the ampersand? That brackets should be used only in certain places infrequently? That bullet points and stem sentence should be displayed correctly?

Y'all best get checking your page content

[LOS Design UK]

I always provide a FULL project scope and checklist for agreement BEFORE we take a deposit. So come the end of the job, you can check off each point....nice or what

you mean everyone doesn't do that?

Now, now Sandra...stop poking that wasps nest

[LOS Design UK]

I'll have to disagree on this one I'm afraid. Adhering to published formal grammars is part and parcel of Standards Compliance. A compliant site is more easily interpreted correctly by a wider range of UAs. But for me, the big plus - as ever - is that a compliant site is easier to access by users with a whole spectrum of disabilities and their AT.

One thing - there were others - that really disappointed me with WCAG 2.0 was its non-inclusion of the requirement that documents should validate. I will never, for the life of me, understand why it was dropped.

Whilst I appreciate where you come from, I am afraid I have to agree with Sandra (what am I saying )

Until ALL BROWSERS share the same standards it is not a task I take to heart.

For example, when I rescue a site, of course I will check to see where we are at. But if the error is not impeding performance or visitor experience then there is no value in me busting my proverbials to remove the error if it is minor. (Unless there are 10's of basic errors)

On top of this with 99.9% of the ecommerce carts out there, compliance is not always possible due to scripting requirements (along with some blogs, interactive sites etc)

The same can be said for many variants. A clean design is easy to make compliant...but you start adding certain functionality requirements then you are in a whole new ball game.

You too will discover this when you have been in the trade for a while. It is all about impact vs cost and reward.

Oh and sites with the badge....sooooooooooo 90's IMHO.

[LOS Design UK]

PS did you know that screen readers cannot read the ampersand? That brackets should be used only in certain places infrequently? That bullet points and stem sentence should be displayed correctly?

Amongst a plethera of other aspects. When will all browsers join in....and be standardised then we can all go for the validation!

[Indizine]

but what I am saying is, I have yet to date, to see ONE website that complies FULLY. Bearing in mind i'm not gonna see all 6 billion any time soon

[LOS Design UK]

but what I am saying is, I have yet to date, to see ONE website that complies FULLY. Bearing in mind i'm not gonna see all 6 billion any time soon

I have seen a few that say they do in the footer only to fail when you check.

Love to someone to show me an ecommerce site that validates!

[AWTS]

In light of the responses to my post on the importance of validation, I've been having a couple of hours away from the dreaded business plan. Instead, I've been talking to accessibility colleagues, doing some reading and research. I've also, to put it bluntly, been doing some heavy introspective thinking.

My conclusions worried me at first, but as I examined them from all perspectives, I realised that my thinking on accessibility and standards compliance has been, well....fundamentally flawed.

I've been slavishly following this guideline, that guideline, this piece of research and that piece of research. When all the time, the true meaning of accessibility was hovering nearby - tantalisingly close, but too far to grasp.

I've taken quite a few things on board this afternoon. I've finally accepted that, for example, a fully validated website is not necessarily accessible; on the flip side, a site that is accessible to a perfectly acceptable level does not always validate.

I've read the acknowledged experts in the field talking about sacrificing validation for accessibility - something I am now coming to terms with. A major blow to my thinking to be sure.

It'll be hard to do, but I intend to the change way I've been looking at standards and compliance. So what if a site does not validate? For me, accessibility is the key and the goal.

You too will discover this when you have been in the trade for a while. It is all about impact vs cost and reward.

Oh and sites with the badge....sooooooooooo 90's IMHO.

OK...I have one site to my credit (2 if you count mine...and that wasn't all my own work - I sort of inherited it). The one site I have done, which I can say is honestly all mine - I'm actually quite please with it. Never mind that it was pro bono for a friend and was done simply to get my portfolio started.

The badge thing? So what if it is sooooooooo 90's? I missed the first 8 years of this century due to illness. So I'm still in the 90's in a way.

Anyway, as a new starter in the business I thought that 'wearing' a badge like this was a good thing, in that it showed how serious you were about the sites you build...not so sure now though.

Anyway, long tedious ramble over...thanks for all of your thoughts and contributions.

[Indizine]

If wearing that badge brings business, wear it daily

[LOS Design UK]

If wearing that badge brings business, wear it daily

agreed wholeheartedly...it was just an opinion of mine...no offence intend of course.



And Gary, well played Sir. You have already taken massive steps in the right direction by absorbing, reflecting and reacting.

There are many, many designers out there whom take years to think in this manner. I am sure your future is bright and I wish you all the best.

And as a few on here will concur, if you wish to draw from some of my experiences in my field (development more than design) or you do need any free advice/support away from the forum that you think I may be able to assist with, I am only to happy to help genuine peeps such as yourself in anyway I can be it via telephone, skype or PM.

Best wished mate.