Please Mark-up your Webpages!

This was originally posted at Sitepoint.com, but I thought I would be a good idea to post it here as well.

XHTML is a Meta language used to present information in useable way. The more valid markup in an XHTML page the more meaning it brings to the page creating a more defined Internet.

Imagine if the English language did not have any nouns, verbs, pronouns, past-tense, future-tense, etc. The language would mean nothing; it would be a garbled mess; it would be useless besides knowing it was English. The whole point of nouns, verbs, pronouns, etc… is to give structure.

The same applies to the web and XHTML/HTML the more your page is marked up with appropriate markup the more meaning it provides. Tags such as pre, code, em, strong, acronym, cite, p, q, legend, sub, sup etc… a more detailed list can be found here: http://www.w3schools.com/xhtml/default.asp

For web example on proper designing and use of CSS/XHTML visit www.csszengarden.com this is a wonderful resource which I use on a continual basis to draw inspiration and design strategies.

For proper semantics read through www.simplebits.com archives. There are some wonderful discussions on the subject. Also check out http://www.mezzoblue.com/ the creator of csszengarden.

Lastly, a recent project had me asking what was more important: visual presentation or semantics. You can read my post on the subject here: http://www.cconway.com/index.php?p=57

Chuck