1. The effects of widespread Web standards deployment on the Web design industry and end-user. James Willock April 19, 2009

2. What are web standards? Specifications developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) to ensure HTML and other markup is written using the same methods and syntax throughout the web. The most common Web standards-based languages are xHTML, CSS, Javascript (with the DOM) and XML.

3. How have Web standards changed the industry? Designers and developers have had to learn new ways to code, at personal or business cost. Employers are actively seeking out designers and developers who understand the new standards, potentially leaving late-comers out in the cold. Clients who are aware of web standards now look for businesses that implement them.

4. How have web standards effected the end user? Web standards-based code is usually much more condensed, leading to lower bandwidth requirements to view sites. More advanced techniques using CSS and Javascript are being developed to aid usability. Older browsers that do not support web standards are obsolete.

5. What will i investigate? How Web standards have changed the Web design and development industry. Whether working designers and developers are broadly for or against the changes. How easily designers or developers using legacy techniques can become proficient with Web standards techniques. How further education is changing to accommodate Web standards.

6. which sources will i consult? Primarily, Jeffery Zeldman’s Designing With Web Standards. Also, Web Accessibility: Web Standards and Regulatory Compliance and Spinning the Semantic Web. I will speak to industry figures and educators at length about changes in business and learning.