Une interview de Mark Newhouse qui pourrait servir d'introduction aux standards. Une position assez comparable à celle de Zeldman dans son dernier livre, c'est à dire pragmatique et bien éloignée du zèle des fanatiques des standards. En voici un extrait en anglais :

Digital Web: What are three easy standards-based things that can be done to improve any Web site?

Mark Newhouse: I guess I would characterize these things as simple but not always easy. They require a bit of knowledge about standards in order to do them, but they are certainly straightforward...

  1. Lose all font tags and replace them with CSS. This will often reduce the page weight by as much as 50%, especially when you are dealing with nested tables. Plus you get the added benefit of better control over typography (leading, indentation, margins and padding).
  2. Reduce the number of nested tables and use CSS to replicate their layout. In the case of Amazon, there are several places where they appear to be using tables to create leading and other vertical white space. Correct markup and proper use of CSS can create the same look on the page.
  3. Validate. Take the necessary time to ferret out any major validation issues. You don't have to have an error free page (although it is a good thing to strive for), but the (X)HTML and CSS validators can be very helpful in tracking down bugs in your markup and CSS.