XHTML, standard, was first released back in 2000. About five years later, we start to see major websites updated to use this standard. Even the guy who whipped up a favorite standards-compliance punditry, Microsoft, introduced his homepage, msn.com and microsoft.com into XHTML. XHTML sites comply with several standards. The reason is simple.
When W3C introduced a new standard, the entire HTML-based web did not stop working. And every other web, written in various HTML formats, will not stop working anytime soon. Despite any pressing need to conform to the new standard, designers continue to use older, more traditional methods.
These methods will work in any modern browser, so why bother changing them? These feelings are similar to those I have experienced. It starts with a kind of "if it isn't broken, don't fix it". Whether HTML is "broken" or not is a different argument. For regular internet users, their standards are straightforward.
If the site displays no apparent error and functions satisfactorily, these standards are met. Any additional steps the browser has taken to make such a display possible are not necessary for most users. This kind of mindset is hard to beat for designers who are accustomed to their old ways.
The technical barriers to adopting XHTML can be daunting and, especially for large, existing websites with complex text. However, the time may come when HTML was “tried and true” over and above the old language, which could not be translated by modern electronic devices.
Whether a person agrees with the W3C approach to HTML development does not matter, you are on the way. With some perseverance, getting a hang of XHTML is possible. In form, it is no different from HTML, as Japanese is derived from English. Knowing HTML provides a basic knowledge of the language, it just becomes a matter of learning a particular dialect. Even the original naysayer like me was able to do it.
Benefits of XHTML There are 2 main benefits to using XHTML. Firstly, a strong XHTML documents are valid. "Valid" documents have no errors. Error-free documents can be easily processed by the browser. Although the time saved, admittedly, is relatively small in terms of user experience, there is a great deal of efficiency in browser performance.
Most modern browsers will work well on what are commonly called "quirks", where, in addition to the page information about the type of HTML they read, they present the "best guess" of the page. Quirks mode will also forgive many errors in HTML. Modern browsers installed on your home computer have the comfort of size and power to deal with these errors.
If browser technology makes a dent in other electronic devices, they may not have the size and capacity to forgive. This is where strong, legitimate documentation is required for the standard XHTML value. The second advantage is the code itself, which is cleaner and more compact than usual, an HTML-based “table” structure.
Although XHTML retains the functionality of the table, the standard makes clear tables that should not be used for page layout or anything other than displaying data in table format. This is often a major obstacle that many designers face when moving to XHTML.
The way many designers have relied on the design and layout of their pages is now obscure. A simple visual exploration of the XHTML code reveals how simple and efficient it is compared to a table-based HTML format. XTHML uses Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), which, when called out, removes almost all style information from the XHTML document itself.
This creates a content-only document. XHTML uses "div" tags to define content areas. How these “divisions” are expressed is controlled by CSS. This is known as CSS-P, or CSS Positioning. Trading with “table” markers can be difficult. Learning a new way to accomplish a task is often difficult.
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