HTML5 is currently all the rage. But while people are busy discussing the latest and greatest, maybe it is a good time and step back to look at how to write solid HTML4. Most of the HTML I see, frankly, could use a bit of work. I want durable HTML. Since I don't see that written about enough, I thought I would pick up the gauntlet.
First, I should define "Durable HTML". By this, I mean HTML code that can take a hit and withstand the unexpected. For example, what happens if a manually cleared float is added to the main content area of the page. Does it mess up the design? What about a wider-than-expected image or contiguous text string? What if the text is much longer than expected - making your site taller than you originally guessed? What if JavaScript is disabled?
How easy is it to make changes that - to the client - look really easy to make? What if they want to change out an image in the header? What if they want to change the width of the site or center it?
These are just some of the things that are easy to fail to anticipate when writing your HTML. Very often I see HTML that works, but only if everything continues to be as it was when the code was first written. When that code falls apart, it often does so in glaring ways. The key is to avoid obvious failure.
Rather than trying to speak in abstracts, I am going to take a real world example and work through it - using a site I actually did recently for a client (with different text, colors, and images). I will cover exactly what I did on this project for my client as well as things that I might have done differently if I had it to do over again (I usually have at least one of those for any given project).
[More]
