Specification

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Specification

Sheffield Hallam University
Faculty of Arts, Computing, Engineering & Sciences
BSc (Hons) Computing (Networks) [Final Year]

Student: Philip Steer
Date: 5th November 2004
Supervisor: Mark Jacobi
Level of Project: BSc (Hons) Computing (Networks)



Title of Project:


An investigation into the existence and use of standards in Web Design.



Elaboration


As the Internet becomes ever more widespread, available on more and more types of devices, with the complexity of sites increasing all the time, is there any way that things could be made easier for everyone? The answer is of course yes, but does anybody actually know anything about it? The answer here is probably no. Not applying web standards from the initial design to the final release can cause numerous issues through the lifetime of any given site build. In a nutshell, building following web standards can save a lot of time and money, even though the initial coding may take slightly longer to complete. It also allows each site to look as close to identical as is possible on a range of browsers and platforms, meaning it will be equally accessible to all. Usability and accessibility of sites is now a major issue with the Disability Discrimination Act that has been introduced, meaning companies who do not follow guidelines for making their sites accessible to all can face large fines.

Web standards are a way of coding sites that will allow them to be easily ported across numerous platforms and browsers, and will allow even text-based readers to use the internet with ease. The standards have been around for a few years now, but many people have never even heard of them. Cascading style sheets and XHTML are the way forward, but how many people actually know the benefits and use them? What about the large corporations and companies? Do they design their sites with web-users with disabilities in mind? Do they follow simple recommendations and rules that will allow a greater number of users access their portals? And if following these standards is as easy as it sounds, how come even the designers aren't following them all the time?
This project will investigate these standards and the existing level of their usage on the World Wide Web. It will demonstrate the use of standards and how they can aid designers and web publishers who wish their pages to be viewed in as broad a range of browser configurations as possible.



Project Objectives and Deliverables

Objectives:
Deliverables:


Task Plan

Tasks & Milestone Dates


Assessment Criteria


Investigation based project