Please note: Every link on this page opens in a new window. If your "Pop-up killer" is too efficient it can also stop new windows. When this happens, please press "Ctrl" and click on the link you want.

Why Validate?

Even if there are no obvious errors or mistakes, the search engine "spiders" (robots) are reading your HTML code as written. IF there are small errors, it will affect your listings, even if most browsers display the page correctly.

The validator tells you, not only if the web page code is correct or not, but especially if it is up to current standards. Consider there are surfers on the net, that are either themselves disabled to a lesser or greater degree, or are using bad or slow connections.

Furthermore, the browser manufacturers are coming under strong pressure to make their programs more strict. The browsers will, however, continue reading also simple HTML because there are hundreds of millions of web pages made according to "old" standards" (backwards compatibility). Some browsers, however, are more strict than others. Explorer, which is used by a great majority of surfers, is said to be the least strict one. IE 7 is little bit more standards compliant than version 6 but people have been very slow to change over to this browser.

HTML and CSS Validators

W3C HTML Validator
"W3C" validates only HTML 4.+ and requires DOCTYPE and charset tags. If you use the "Transitional" Doctype this validator sometimes accepts some HTML error. Make a double check with one of the others. You can upload your page code and pre-validate before publishing your new web page.

W3C CSS Validator
CSS validator. First you validate your HTML / XHTML code separately. Then you can validate your Cascading Style Sheets either from your web page or by uploading your page code or css file only. I suggest you - just to be sure - check your code also in a code checker if you are using the transitional Doctype.

The following are not really validators, very strictly speaking they are code checkers, or in "Computerese": lint programs.

WebXact
To make your site accessible and enjoyable to a maximum number of visitors, go to WebXact (ex. Bobby). Click on the question marks "?", and you will get WebXact's comments for that particular item. "WebXact" concentrates on accessibility.

Not every designer makes accessible pages. All British Government Agencies are by law obliged to make their websites / pages accessible for disabled people. The requirement extends also to other sites, to which those Agencies are providing links. The British Coast Guard, for instance, offers a big font size version. I would expect the European Union by and by to follow the British example. Better stay a step ahead.

US Law, Section 508 [29 U.S.C. '794d] from 1998, requires Federal agencies to make their electronic and information technology accessible to people with disabilities.

Dr. Watson
Dr. Watson validates regular HTML. You can also get:

• Image and regular links check (outgoing links)
  
• Check your spelling
  
• Compute estimated download times (see also Don Pedro's Download vs. Display Time)
  
• Search Engine Compatibility
  
• Link Popularity (from Altavista)

Alpine Doctor
Especially after you have changed your code, I would suggest you check your web page code at Alpine Doctor. You get comments on what is not so good with suggestions for corrections. You even get a repaired file, which you can either use as such (if you like) or just adopt those changes you think are necessary. It helps to find small errors - like "extra" end tags - those the browsers ignore, but search engines notice. The "error warnings" part consists of your code with code errors marked with a red ^ mark directly below the error with a comment also in red.

Alpine Doctor reads only down to the second level in your site structure. If you have your pages on the 3^rd level or lower, this validator cannot get your pages and you have to use another one instead.

Different Site Structure Levels: www.donpedrowebdesign.netfirms.com/page.html Level                            1                                     2 www.angelfire.com/ok4/donpedroshipping/page.html Level             1              2                 3                  4

Total Validator
Total Validator (8.2 MB), free basic version. Does validate local files. Choose HTML version, accessibility level, broken links check, spell check: English (US - UK), Français, Italiano, or Español. For each type of error you get a good explanation and suggestion how to correct it.

"HTML Help's" HTML validator and CSS code Checker.
You can validate your web page HTML code or you can pre-validate your code before publishing (uploading) it on your server.

CSS code checker. An excellent complement to W3C's validator when you are using the transitional code.

CSE Lite HTML Validator.
This you can download for free personal non-commercial ( non-professional ) use (10.5 MB). It's a "stripped" HTML validator handy to use when making a new page or changing an old one. You can also check your spelling with this "validator". Especially if you have a slow modem / telephone dial-up connection you can pre-validate before uploading.

Remember to re-validate with at least two on-line validators after uploading.

Instant Web Page Validation

Do you want to check how the validation / code checking works in reality?

You can do it straight away. Just type in or paste an URL (web page Internet address) in the "location bar" and click "Check". Take for instance this page, the banner code will show a lot of errors but I don't have control over that. Or you can type in the URL for one of your own pages. Don't type in http://, it is there already.


I have the same program on my own computer. That way I can check any changes I do immediately, regardless of any connection to the Internet.

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