Closed. This question needs to be more focused. It is not currently accepting answers.
Want to improve this question? Update the question so it focuses on one problem only by editing this post.
Closed 7 years ago.
Improve this question
I'm working on a new website, and I'm trying to decide how I want to balance the need for semantic correctness, with other important stuff, like development time. I know that semantics are supposed to be important for SEO, and accessibility for blind people. And those are important to me, and shouldn't take too much extra time. So I'll design them in, from the beginning. Anyway, my question is, what else is semantic correctness currently useful for? If there's something else I may consider worthwhile, I'd rather spend a little extra time now to build it in, than wait until later, when it may be more difficult.
Also, I know there are a lot of future possibilities. Some good, and some not (I've seen all the Terminator movies:). But I'll wait and see what happens with those.
edit: I should have mentioned that supporting some old browsers is important for this project, so being semantically correct won't be easy. Especially since I haven't done a lot of browser programming.
I did some more research, so now I can answer my own question.
Other than making sure my site is accessible to disabled people and search engines, there isn't currently anything all that important about semantic correctness, for my project. And I think search engines and screen readers are sophisticated enough these days, to handle some incorrect semantics, as long as the content structure isn't too confusing.
I can see semantic HTML elements being useful for documentation though, as long as it doesn't complicate my code.
Related
Closed. This question does not meet Stack Overflow guidelines. It is not currently accepting answers.
This question does not appear to be about programming within the scope defined in the help center.
Closed 6 years ago.
Improve this question
I heard that for SEO reasons one should use example.html for example.com domain as main page where user lands on start rather than index.html. Is it true? It doesn't feel right for me but I want to be sure.
You asked about doing this for SEO reasons - there's no real benefit directly to your seo. Google will ranking index.html and my-seo-keyword.html in the same place. The value of keyword rich URLs has diminished to almost nothing over the past 5 years.
It feels a bit spammy to me as well. A good rule of thumb is can you answer this question:
"This change not only benefits my SEO, but it's also good for real humans too because..."
If you can answer that, you are generally all good. If you cannot, then I'd steer clear. Real humans would expect to find an index.html or a home.html, so I'd stay with them.
If something feels a bit spammy but is not currently against google's rules then I'd still steer clear, as a future algorithm update will probably get you.
Finally I'd say you don't need to worry too much about such small things in SEO - it's the big main things that have real effect. Things like this have a pretty insignificant effect, so I'd not be too concerned.
Hope that helps!
Phil.
You are partially correct. It is not better just because people say so. It is better because it is easier to remember and offers users a better experience.
Think of it this way, the shorter the url, the easier it is to share, remember, copy, etc.
Closed. This question is opinion-based. It is not currently accepting answers.
Want to improve this question? Update the question so it can be answered with facts and citations by editing this post.
Closed 8 years ago.
Improve this question
I've been working on updating the coding standards for my web development organization. One aspect of this that has proven contentious among my co-workers is the ordering of HTML attributes. One co-worker, and many sources I have found online, suggest that class or id should come first, followed by others in order of importance.
<a class="foo" href="/bar/baz.html">Link</a>
Supposedly, this aids in readability. I'm not so sure in this case. Sometimes, when people say something is more readable, what they mean is that they have become accustomed to a certain pattern, and can't browse as easily without the pattern. Which is really more subjective than readability. Another co-worker suggests (and I happen to agree with him) that the defining attribute of the element should come first, and then any presentational or organizational attributes should follow. The essence of the anchor tag is the href attribute.
Link
This might be trivial on an anchor tag, so what about an input tag?
When scrolling through a form, I want to know right away what the input's type is: text, radio, button, etc. Class can come later.
How do the rest of you feel about this topic? I'm interested in hearing any arguments for both sides. Maybe we shouldn't even be worrying about this particular bit of syntax?
Technically, it doesn't matter at all. In terms of personal preferences, all that matters are the personal preferences of those on your team.
My personal preference is that this is minutia and overhead that no one really should be dwelling on.
Closed. This question is opinion-based. It is not currently accepting answers.
Want to improve this question? Update the question so it can be answered with facts and citations by editing this post.
Closed 9 years ago.
Improve this question
I have just scratched the surface in the world of programming, and I need to know where to begin. I work for a Web-page writing articles, and I face a raise if I learn to format the article myself. I want to learn how to format, and also how to code. Is there anywhere in particular where I should begin my journey to programming things such as web-applications?
The following are just a hint. This journey is quite long and after a basic level, you have a multitude of options...
First of all: learn HTML. There's nothing to do if you cannot understand the content you're creating.
Learn CSS - this will help you to achieve the formatting in the right way and will make you understand how web pages are styled. That's where the fun begins, with knowing some CSS you will be able to make a web site look good.
Get a decent code editor for working, prototyping. If you really want to understand what's going on, then prefer non-WYSIWYG editors (you will see what I mean). The more decent you can get the better - this will help you in your daily work, better to not choose one which is irritating for you. (Personally I use PhpStorm which is a really good, professional tool. It might be too advanced for beginners.)
All web pages nowadays are created dynamically, for example via PHP. Learning to code in PHP will make you busy for quite a bit of time, so it would be the best to get a good book about it. (This will also start you up learning about databases, where the actual information is stored.) In my opinion, this is where the real part of web programming begins.
After writing some basic stuff with PHP, get familiar with different frameworks/CMSs just to know how we deal with big, real sites. (WordPress is great for starting and it's advanced enough to use it on a real site.) There's no point in reinventing the wheel, so always try to have a look whether others have done what you would like to do before. There's always a toolkit for the common tasks.
Closed. This question is opinion-based. It is not currently accepting answers.
Want to improve this question? Update the question so it can be answered with facts and citations by editing this post.
Closed 8 years ago.
Improve this question
I'm following a tutorial series on web development. While I already have a basic understanding of HTML and how to use it to structure a page, I'm indulging myself and watching the very beginner tutorials. The funny thing is, in these tutorials the author is using tags like address and cite. When he describes why one should use these tags, he explains it only as "semtantics."
While I feel like these tags may have been more prevalent ten years ago, I never run across anyone using them besides this guy. Given he is professional, I'm now conflicted on whether or not its really necessary to use them. What is the benefit?
According to the current HTML5.1 specification nightly (as modern as it gets):
The address element is valid perfectly fine to use and so is the cite element. While a lot of sites tend to mostly use tags like div and span you can feel safe to use both address and cite .
I think it's good practice that will help you later when you have to read your HTML again to insert changes. It improves accessibility of your document as well as lets parsers other than browsers understand it better.
(Note, address and cite are legal in the old HTML specification too)
The benefit of semantic tags is that they give your html some structure - by using them you are encoding meaning into your html that can be useful in all kinds of areas. Search engines often use semantic tags to assist in ranking pages, to use a simple example. Whilst it might not always seem necessary, it is good to get into the habit of using them wherever possible.
Closed. This question is off-topic. It is not currently accepting answers.
Want to improve this question? Update the question so it's on-topic for Stack Overflow.
Closed 10 years ago.
Improve this question
This might not be a coding question, but very relevant to coding so I hoped I would get an answer here. All coders, maybe specially designer. Use others code in there own code. If you see something you like. you use that code in your design. In some degree, I'm sure every coder does this. So I was wondering where the line goes.
Can you use others complete css file and have a almost identical design as another site? With completely different content off course. Or is this Copyright infringement? And how can you confirm that people have Copyright on something?
Where can you find information on the laws on this? Thanks
All code, like all content, unless explicitly released under a more permissive license, is copyrighted. Copying snippets of neat features on other sites, which is, of course, done a lot, will probably fall under "Fair Use" (look it up) in the US, or similar regulations elsewhere. However, copying a complete style sheet or HTML template, without prior permission from the author, is illegal. There's a lot of free and gratis HTML+CSS templates out there, you can always start from those to create your own design and code. Do, however, read the terms and conditions carefully; "forgetting" an acknowledgement probably isn't allowed either, and makes you look double the fool.
I don't think the code itself, or a part of it, will be seen as a copyright infringement, by a judge. As long as your site doesn't look to much the same, in design, it should not be a problem.