Validating your web pages | Computing (2024)

Why Validate

We are required by law to have our web pages accessible by all. The university has published guidelines about this. A page written in valid HTML is much more likely to be readable by all screen readers.

Successfully running your web pages through a validator is a prerequisite for accessibility.

You can validate web pages via any web browser e.g. internet explorer or firefox.

Validating Errors

When you run your web page through a validator you may receive dozens of errors. Don't worry; like with LaTeX often fixing one error fixes many errors.

If you have problems correcting any DAMTP, DPMMS, Statslab, Maths or CMS web page errors reported by the validator, please email help@maths who will assist you in finding the error. Obviously you'll need to include the address of the web page or the location of the html file in your email.

Validating web pages via your web-browser

The easiest way to validate a web page is to go to the address http://validator.w3.org/ and type in the page's web address in the form provided. Or upload the file or copy and paste the code in via the optional tabs on the above page.

If you will be validating many pages, you may wish to create a bookmark or favourite which takes the page you have open in your web browser and runs it through the validator. To do this add a bookmark or favourite pointing at (one long line)

javascript:void((function () { var script=document.createElement('script'); script.src='http://www.damtp.cam.ac.uk/validator/upload.js'; document.body.appendChild(script) })())
Creating bookmarks using Firefox
To create a bookmark in Firefox go to Bookmarks -> Show All Bookmarks. Highlight the location where you want to save the bookmark e.g. Bookmarks Menu. Select Organise then New Bookmark. In the Location section paste the validator code given above.
Creating bookmarks using Internet Explorer
Unlike with Firefox I cannot find a direct way to do this. Add any random page to your favourites, then change the name to something like "Webpage Validator" and the URL to the code given above. To edit the link go to Favourites -> Organise Favourites -> a window will appear containing your favourite pages. Right click on the newly created favourite and select Properties. Select the tab called Web Document and insert the validator code in the field called URL: via paste. Select OK.

Using the linux command line validate tools

 # show errors in index file tidy -e ~/public_html/index.html # make 'tidied' version for testing tidy ~/public_html/index.html > ~/public_html/indexnew.html
Validating your web pages | Computing (2024)

FAQs

What is validating web pages? ›

In simple terms, validation ensures that your website complies with the standards accepted by most web designers. That also means that it will be accessible to more people, across more web browsers and operation systems. Having an accessible website is also regarded as good web design practice.

Why is web validation important? ›

Validating someone shows you understand their feelings and point of view, even when you disagree. It establishes trust, helping the other person feel supported and open to discussing solutions.

What is data validation on web page? ›

Data validation is the process of verifying and validating data that is collected before it is used. Any type of data handling task, whether it is gathering data, analyzing it, or structuring it for presentation, must include data validation to ensure accurate results.

How to validate your HTML? ›

In order to validate your code, you have to declare the standard to which it adheres. To describe the HTML standard (the document type declaration, DTD), the file should contain a DOCTYPE declaration (before the HTML code). Here are a few examples (from http://www.htmlhelp.com/tools/validator/doctype.html).

How do you know if a website is validated? ›

Look for the secure padlock: Chrome, Safari, Internet Explorer and Firefox browsers display a padlock in the URL field to indicate "safe" websites. You can click on the padlock to confirm that the certificate belongs to the same company as the website you are trying to visit.

What is validation in computing? ›

Validation is an automatic computer check to ensure that the data entered is sensible and reasonable. It does not check the accuracy of data. For example, a secondary school student is likely to be aged between 11 and 16. The computer can be programmed only to accept numbers between 11 and 16. This is a range check.

What are the four types of validation? ›

We commonly classify process validation based on the timing of its execution relative to the production schedule. According to this description, there are four distinct types of process validation: prospective validation, retrospective validation, concurrent validation, and revalidation.

What is an example of validation? ›

Examples of validating statements. I can see that you are very (upset, sad, frightened, scared). I guess that must have been hard for you. I can see you are making an effort.

Which tool is used to validate HTML? ›

Alternatively, you can use browser extensions or add-ons like HTML Validator for Firefox or W3C Validator for Chrome to validate your HTML code directly from your browser and highlight any mistakes in your source code or web page.

How do you validate required in HTML? ›

The simplest HTML validation feature is the required attribute. To make an input mandatory, add this attribute to the element. When this attribute is set, the element matches the :required UI pseudo-class and the form won't submit, displaying an error message on submission when the input is empty.

What does validating an HTML file do? ›

An invalid web page might look fine in your browser, but someone accessing the page in another browser might have an entirely different experience with the same content. Valid HTML assures that all standards-compliant browsers will display the page reliably.

What is a valid web page? ›

A URL is a string used to identify a resource. A URL is a valid URL if at least one of the following conditions holds: The URL is a valid URI reference [RFC3986]. The URL is a valid IRI reference and it has no query component.

What is web form validation? ›

This is called form validation. When you enter data, the browser and/or the web server will check to see that the data is in the correct format and within the constraints set by the application.

What are the problems of not validating a web form? ›

Input validation errors occur when websites fail to properly validate user input, leaving them vulnerable to various attacks such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), and command injection, making them a significant threat to web security.

What is the purpose of validating a HTML document? ›

Valid HTML assures that all standards-compliant browsers will display the page reliably.

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