What's wrong with this code?

< p keyword1 sentence, well written copy, etc.

< p > keyword2 paragraph with more choice content.

This code is missing a ">" The issue is not that page will necessarily get skipped altogether but that "keyword1" sentence looks like part of tag - like a tag attribute. So words in "keyword1" sentence probably won't be included in search engines computations, even though page itself will be indexed.

Once a spider sees a correct tag further along in page, then it's back on course. So, keyword2 paragraph would make it.

3. Faster Loading - if your web page contains html errors it will take a longer time for search engines to spider it, therefore slowing loading time. If your page doesn't load in under 10 seconds your visitors may click away to your competitors' sites.

4. Less load on servers - clean and simple code won't tax your server as much as a site which has complicated code or contain many nested tables. Cascading style sheets (CSS) will greatly reduce amount of code within your web pages. This will also cut down on amount of web space and bandwidth used thus saving you money for hosting your site.

5. Easier to update and maintain web site - with no mistakes in your html code it is easier and faster to make changes to your web pages. For web site designers, this means you will save time and money when maintaining clients' sites.

6. Browser compatibility - validated code ensures your site is compatible with current browsers and future browsers. You might say "well, it looks fine in Internet Explorer, so why bother with any other browsers?" Current browsers will continue to update their rules and future browsers will make sure they are html compliant.

7. Access more visitors - if you ensure your web pages appear correctly in all major browsers you will be able to reach a larger audience which then increases potential of your site to make more sales.

Part 2 of this article will discuss:

What documents to validate The validation process Validation tools Common validation errors

Designing within constraints of (x)html: When you lay out a print ad, you place images where they belong on page, draw out any shapes, lay out colors, and place text. Then you print it out and make copies. Every copy you hand out looks exactly same, and there’s nothing magic about way things stay on page. In web design, everything is held in place by code. You could easily have a four to one ratio of code to content. If you are not familiar with coding involved in keeping your site looking like it’s supposed to, it can be very frustrating laying out your design.

Accessibility: Back to our perfect world – not only would browsers be perfect, but all our viewers would look through same eyes. Unfortunately, some people aren’t blessed with good eyesight or motor skills like you and I. We need to consider that for those who have disabilities, a poorly laid out website can be completely useless. You could ignore that audience, but you would be doing yourself a disservice. And let’s not forget, our biggest and most important group of users is completely blind: search engine spiders. They read your website same way a blind person does. If layout of your site isn’t logical, a spider may leave and not bother coming back for a long time.

J Hancock is the president and founder of HighTide Web Services. We are proud to be a fast growing, California based web services firm, offering high quality web site templates from some of the best designers out there, as well as excellent and affordable web hösting