Compliance and the Web

The foundation of web interoperability is standards compliance. Without some form of adherence to standards it's not possible to create applications which can efficiently integrate with other applications e.g. a web page within a web browser

One of the simplest rules to follow in order to achieve web compliance with standards is to use html elements for their intended purpose. Here's a simple example. Images on a web page which convey information to the user and are not merely some window dressing should have ALT text attached to them. Some web sites pack this ALT text with keywords in the hope of optimising their search engine rankings. That is using a page element for something other than its intended purpose. This therefore renders the page non compliant with W3C standards.

Read more about web compliance.

The Public Sector

eGif Compliance

The e-Government Interoperability Framework (eGif) was first published in September 2000 and is mandatory within the UK public sector. It defines a minimum standard required to achieve interoperability between Government information systems. If you conform with eGif then you should be able to interact effectively with other eGif compliant systems.

At the highest level complying with the eGif means:

• providing a browser interface for access
• using XML as the primary means for data integration
• using Internet and World Wide Web standards.

If a system fails the test on any of the aspects listed above then a migration strategy will need to be produced and agreed by OeE (Technical Policy) to move to use of them in the future. Failing to comply and the absence of an acceptable migration strategy will lead to the following courses of actions:

• Compliance with the eGif is one of the criteria that will be used when assessing/evaluating departmental e-Business Strategies and deciding on the release of funding by e-Envoy and HM Treasury. It should be recognised that failing to comply will make it very hard to produce a strategy that does all it needs to do.
• New systems failing to comply with the eGif will not get project approval and funding from the appropriate bodies within their organisations.
• Legacy systems seeking to link to the GSI, UK Online or Knowledge Network and failing to comply with the eGif will be refused connection.
• Suppliers that are not prepared to meet the eGif specific requirements or equivalents (which do not adversely affect functionality) raised in procurements, etc will not meet the specification.

Source: Govtalk (Rich Text File)

W3C Standards

Compliance with W3C standards should be considered a modus operandi by any web team and a minimum skill level. Well formed and valid code is the cornerstone of interoperability. Too many web applications rely on the error handling capabilities of user agents such as Internet Explorer 6, however not every device can deal with bad code as well as the major browsers. Mobile browsers, for example, have much less capability, when it comes to dealing with the 'unexpected'.

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 (WCAG 1.0)

These are the de facto international standard and a means by which accessibility compliance can be audited and are a requirement for all UK .gov web sites. Compliance with these standards will go a long way to ensuring a good accessible and usable web site. However, they are only guidelines, and shouldn't be taken as a guarantee of accessibility or as all encompassing.

The Private Sector

Sites such as Legal&General have proved how, by complying with the same guidelines and standards as the public sector, the effectiveness of their web presence can dramatically improve. Compliance with standards has resulted in greater reach and impact as well as clearly demonstrating a commitment to corporate responsibilities.

With the introduction of new laws promoting greater access for disabled web users, we at Legal & General recognised a golden opportunity. We've made our website simpler, clearer and easier to use - not just for disabled people, but for every visitor.
Source: Legal and General.

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