W3C validation is a system that determines whether a page is W3C-validated or not, according to the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) web standards. In simpler terms, validation checks if the page's source code contains errors, mistakes, or omissions that should not be present in the original source code. For example, if you have a poorly closed or misplaced div tag, or if you are using tags that have become obsolete. In short, having a page validated by W3C means verifying that the source code has been written according to current standards.
Is it important to have W3C-validated pages?
It's important to have your pages validated by a W3C validator, but it's not mandatory. Several reasons might lead you to test and validate your pages:
Page load time. A valid page will be slightly faster than an invalid one because the server will have less work to do to work around or correct the error. Your visitors will be more satisfied with faster page load times.
By improving page load time, you improve the overall speed of the site, which is one of the criteria search engines use to determine their rankings. In short, valid pages will, on average, have a better ranking and search engine optimization (SEO) than a page containing many errors.
You gain efficiency and save time. Having a page full of errors will complicate your workflow and your overall understanding of your site's source code. You risk spreading these errors to all the site's pages and wasting time later fixing them. That's why we recommend testing and validating your pages fairly early in the website creation and launch process.
How does the W3Cvalidator.com tool work?
Our W3Cvalidator tool will start by scanning all the pages of your site to check each one for validity. At the end of the process, a message will appear above the results, telling you how many pages contain errors. In the results list, you can see the number of errors present on each page URL of your site. If your page contains errors, simply click the link to open a W3C report that will provide advice on how to correct them. This tool is useful for analyzing your site and detecting potential errors, but it doesn't correct existing errors. However, once the errors are located, the advice in the report should allow you to correct them fairly quickly.