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Why do you believe web standards are important?
The standards are designed to ensure that all websites are compatible with all or nearly all web browsers. This allows the web to be accessible to all, this is important because the web is one of best inventions ever invented and has totally changed the way we learn, do business and communicate! No one should be restricted to what sites they visit.
What is the most important thing about web standards?
Ensuring that all web sites are accessible to all.
Why doesn't everyone follow them?
My understanding is that some designers just don't know about them, or are concerned that the extra time it takes to make a website adhere to the standards will affect the profitability of the project.
What is the hardest thing to follow about web standards?
It's difficult to say because if you design your site with the standards in-mind then it's not hard at all. However if you try to make and existing site compatible then all of it can be difficult/hard to do.
Why are open standards better than proprietary code?
Don't fully understand the question sorry? Do you mean open standards or source? If you clarify I'll answer it for you :O)
Do you think there is any way web standards can be enforced?
No not at the moment because no one single person/organization owns the web, as such you are dependent on many people working together to enforce the standards voluntary.
Who, principally benefits from following web standards?
Everybody - visitors and designers.
What is more important to you? : usability / accessibility, aesthetics, price of design and build, ease of maintenance, clear and concise code.
It's almost impossible to say because they are all important weather the project is commercial or non-commercial. Good Questions though..!
Do you believe that following web standards can save companies money overall?
No not initially, due to retaining costs, but who knows?
Is there any times / has there been any times when you do not / cannot (could not?) follow web standards?
Of course, when we first started there were no standards to work to. When they arrived they were not well publicized, very much like today.
Do all members of the design / build team follow these standards?
Yes, wherever possible we will always work to the standards.
Are you aware whether or not coders follow any particular standards / practices for back-end applications as you do for front-end code?
Yes, where there are standards, we work to them.
Which do you believe is more important? : Correctly written HTML or Aesthetically pleasing designs?
Both are important in equal measures - the design has to look good and the code has to be written correctly in order for the site to work right. So neither can be more important than the other.
In searching the Internet I have found numerous benefits and pros for following the standards. What benefits do you think they bring?
At the moment it is difficult to say because regardless of whether you use the standards or not your site will still look and feel different in certain browsers..! It's just good practice with no massive benefits to our business other than knowing we are working professionally.
What are the cons of following these standards, if any?
As above, the major downfall is the web browsers - they also need to work together to develop standards and consistent page displays.
Do you feel the work you do is affected by incompatibilities between browsers?
YES, with out a doubt.
What stands out most between browsers?
How a design can vary so much from one browser to another, when all are supposed to read the code in exactly the same way.
In your eyes which is the best browser? Why is this?
I don't really have a preference. Some are good and some are bad. However, I tend to use IE as this is what the majority use (Currently).
Which do you consider the worst browser and why?
I don't really have a preference. Some are good and some are bad. Although I am not that keen on AOL Browsers, I wouldn't say it's the worst. I just don't like the style of it etc.
Do you find you have to write a lot of work arounds to make a site work similarly or the same in all browsers?
YES
What is your most common complaint about browsing applications?
How pages display differently and Security -there is no happy medium, it's either full on or off completely - you can never really get the right level - with regards to cookies etc, not SSL (e-commerce).
Do you feel incompatibilities will be resolved in the near future?
I hope so, but you are asking massive companies to accept that their browser is not good enough!
Do you feel that too many companies would rather write code that works in IE on Windows instead of producing sites that will work in all browsers regardless?
I think that it depends on what servers you run and the visitors you attract to your site - Magic Creations has both Windows based servers and Linux based servers and actively program sites for both ensuring that both are compatible with the majority of browsers. However, there are so many browsers that designers/companies don't know about. As such, you have to design for the majority of people and based on information gathered from our web servers the majority of people use Internet Explorer based browsers followed closely by Netscape based browsers and AOL based browsers and all the others take up relatively small percentages. My view is you don't have a choice.
Do you feel that there should be a pre-release test of all browsers, testing both the quality of the software and it's standards compliance?
I think that designers should be consulted when a new browser is to be launched. However, again you have to review the commercial aspect - Microsoft or whoever is not going to wait for feedback if there is a chance that they could lose market share.
Any other comments?
I feel that it will be a long hard battle to achieve total compatibility, however the first hurdle we have to overcome is getting website designers to share the information and work together.