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General Web Standards: XHTML / CSS best practices document

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  1.  
    • CommentAuthorLuc
    • CommentTimeAug 1st 2006
     permalink
    Hi all,
    I'm on the verge of writing a best practices document for XHTML/CSS to give out with any briefs to freelancers - guidelines on what/how to structure a modern website. But before I spend the time I was wondering if anyone has written something similar in the past that I can plagiarise. Apple have something here > http://developer.apple.com/internet/webcontent/bestwebdev.html < but it seems a little out of date - I need something focused on the very latest techniques and practices.

    Anyone gone through anything similar?

    TIA!
  2.  permalink
    Hey TIA!

    You must have too much Free time on you hands.
    But good luck with that.

    Cheers, DS
  3.  permalink
    Hi There

    I work for a government department in the UK. Documents like these are essential if we want to bring all designers up to some sort of standard, so well done on trying to put something like this together.

    Below are a few links you may find usefull....
    http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/e-government/resources/handbook/introduction.asp

    They may be a little to strict for what you require, as they are for government websites. But i refer to the all the time...


    (¯`'•. (¯`'•. Enjoy .•'´¯) .•'´¯)
    • CommentAuthorDunk Ra
    • CommentTimeJan 23rd 2007
     permalink
    I've have the task of preparing a style guide/documentation for a large UK government website.

    Does anyone have an idea of what you'd expect to see in documentation for a website if you were a web developer asked to work on a website that another web team had produced?

    The main purpose of this work is to help other web developers create additional content/templates. As the site will be CSS based everything will be contained in an external stylesheet. I don't really understand how documentation could add a great deal of value. I'd expect another developer to view the source, view the stylesheet and get to work, not read a document detailing elements style-by-style. CSS comments will be used throughout all stylesheets in addition.

    Any links, thoughts, suggestions most welcome.
  5.  permalink
    Sounds like waste of time.
    If developer knows what he is doing he can read the css code as open book.
    If he doesn't why hire him in a first place.
    I never seeing syle alike guide for CSS part of it since most of time if any comments are required done
    inside CSS file I do comment my CSS by section and sometimes smaller sections if there is some odd deal related to the cross browser issue or some kind of hack.
    But since you doing this I would use just staight approch that make more sense to you.
    1. section - HTML tag styles
    Bluh Bluh
    2.Header
    2.1 - subheader
    2.2 - topmenu
    3.Footer
    etc

    Best, DS
    • CommentAuthorDunk Ra
    • CommentTimeJan 25th 2007
     permalink
    dmitryseliv - I hear what you're saying about developers referring to the CSS, but UK government website projects tend to insist on having everything documented. So, it's a requirement and must be done.

    What I've proposed is that I have a webpage for each template that displays all possible HTML elements (headers, lists, images, form elements etc etc) contained within it (home, child, child full-width, child with images etc etc). Then, other developers can see how everything is styled for each and every template, at a glance. A kind of quick visual crib-sheet.

    Then developers go into the CSS and get to work if they need additional styles creating. They then add an example to the template, for everyone else to see.

    Also, came across this useful article that may help others:
    http://www.pebbleroad.com/article/creating_maintaining_a_web_style_guide/

    Orginally they wanted font, size, color, width - everything listed out for each element! So I'm really hoping they see that this is a much more useful way of going about things!
  7.  permalink
    Dmitry - You may consider a style guide a "waste of time", but once designers and developers begin working on large projects (websites with six and seven figure annual budgets) with large project teams documentation is essential to maintain consistency. Documentation is often also required by the client. Making one-off brochure-ware websites certainly does not require the same level of documentation that is required by a government agency or large corporation.

    Dunk - thanks for providing the link to that site. It looks very helpful. If you're looking for someone to help you write the style guide, I think that Dmitry is a great candidate; his communication skills are top notch!

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