Writing Valid HTML Code - My HTML Tutor

Certified HTML Professional The SEO Consultants Directory is considering the development of an innovative service (My HTML Tutor) where members of our esteemed directory (1st priority) can be educated and trained in the art and science of writing valid code.

Myself, along with other members of my team have become quite the gurus when it comes to writing Strict HTML/XHTML (rarely will we code to a Transitional DTD). I've personally instilled the importance of writing valid code into my Programming Team, Server Administration Team and, anyone else (third party providers) that we may work with. It is imperative that code being provided to us (third party providers) be error free and validate to an HTML 4.01 Strict DTD (Transitional acceptable on rare occasion).

You're probably thinking that this is all a pipe dream huh? Well, it isn't. 95% of the HTML/JavaScript errors we see are so basic in nature that they can be corrected within a few hours. The other 5% of the errors may take a few more hours to correct, and those few additional hours of training and education are invaluable.

We've trained quite a few people (Executives, Executive Assistants, Designers, Developers, etc.) over the years and feel confident in our abilities to assist in educating you and/or your staff in the art of writing valid code. Just take a look at the SEO Consultants Directory. It is 98% tableless, validates HTML Strict 4.01, XHTML 1.0 Strict, and uses multiple style sheets to achieve various visual effects throughout the directory. We also use CSS-P and SOC (Source Ordered Content).

How Do We Train and Educate?

There are many ways that training and education can be provided. We prefer and strongly suggest one on one telephone training sessions (at the current time) while working through individual pages correcting errors as we traverse the code from top to bottom. We utilize two primary validators; the W3C Validator (referer method) and the WDG Validator (bulk validation, up to 100 pages). You'll learn the exact same steps that we use on a daily basis while developing and maintaining valid websites.

Train by Phone - How Much Does it Cost?

Telephone training sessions are done in minimum 1 hour increments (no more than 2 hours at a time). The first training session will require a minimum of 4 hours (based on years of experience). Initial training fees are $1,500.00 USD which includes; pre-session research and preparation, the 4 hour initial minimum (telephone sessions), basic summary of the sessions along with supporting references and links via email.

You can choose 1 hour sessions ($250.00 USD per hour for those already trained) at any time after the initial 4 hour tutoring sessions. Fees are subject to change based on the level of experience of those being trained.

Note: If the person(s) considering the training do not have "at least" a basic understanding of HTML and CSS, this is not for them, trust me, it isn't!

Telephone training is performed via GoToMeeting.

Who Benefits from this Unique Training Proposition?

You Do
Internet Marketers
Website Designers
Programmers and Developers
The Client
The Client's Website Visitors
The Internet as a Whole

Make the Investment Now - Don't Wait Until Tomorrow

If there is one investment you make this year, maybe even today, in your education, this is it. I see where the industry is heading and writing valid code would be an impressive addition to your portfolio of search engine marketing services, I guarantee it!

If you are not happy with the outcome of our training and education, I will refund your money. Seriously! I am that confident that the outcome of our time spent together validating web pages will be worth at least 10 times the amount you pay me for the training and education.

If you and/or members of your team are interested in our proposition, please contact me, Edward Lewis, for more information. We will have additional information available online as we progress forward with our plans. Your comments, questions, suggestions, rants, and whatever else, are all welcome!

Edward Lewis, Administrator
SEO Consultants Directory

Certified Markup Professional P.S. Can I certify you? Sure! I can easily develop a fancy little icon that will promote your training and education in writing valid code. It will use words like "Certified" and "Professional" and present an image of authority. How would you like it to look? ;)

What Will We Learn?

The importance of writing valid code both now and in the future. The only way our Internet is going to survive is if the designers, developers, publishers, etc. come together and start cleaning up the mess we've all contributed to while learning over the years. We've done our part, now its your turn. ;)
How to navigate and understand the official W3C website. To the newcomer, navigating the W3C may be somewhat daunting. Once you understand the concept behind the W3C website structure, it becomes easier to find the things you are looking for. All of the answers in regards to HTML/XHTML/CSS are at the W3C, you just need to know how to find them.
How to use the HTML/XHTML/CSS Validators. There are multiple options available when validating HTML/XHTML. Which options are right for you and what purpose does each one serve. During validation, various options will produce different results from the validator. The two options we will use the most will be "Show Source" and "Show Outline".
How to read and understand the errors generated by the Validators. Many are going to be very basic errors that can be corrected during a 1 hour tutoring session. Some errors may require a little more time as there could be design changes required. Not visual changes, but, changes to the structure of the HTML/XHTML/CSS.
How to correct the generated errors. We will show you a methodical process to effectively eliminate errors in large groups. Many times the HTML/XHTML Validators may show 100+ errors. Most of these can be corrected in a few search and replace routines during a 1-2 hour tutoring session.
How to convert deprecated HTML markup to its CSS equivalent. At first, we build an embedded style sheet for the page we are working on. As we go through the validation routine, we will end up removing quite a few deprecated attributes like border="", bgcolor="", width="", etc. If there are any <font> tags (shame on you), those are the first to go!
We will eliminate all of the below deprecated HTML Elements if they are present (and convert them to their CSS equivalents)...

APPLET, BASEFONT, CENTER, DIR, FONT, ISINDEX, MENU, S, STRIKE, U

After we address deprecated HTML Elements, then it is time to move on to attributes that can be used on those elements. Many HTML Attributes being used today are deprecated. This is where the power of CSS comes into play.

We will eliminate most, if not all, of the below deprecated HTML Attributes and convert them to their CSS equivalents.

align, alink, background, bgcolor, border, clear, color, face, height, hspace, language, name, noshade, nowrap, object, size, start, type, value, vlink, vspace, width
How to structure a document semantically (this applies not only to website structure, but also to basic document structure in all publishing programs). How to use Heading Elements <h1>, <h2>, <h3>, <h4>, <h5>, <h6>, List item Elements <ul>, <ol>, <dl>, Paragraph Elements <p> and other HTML Elements to semantically structure a page.
How to offload all styles and scripts to external files. This is something most of you may already know, but we will reiterate during our training that global styles, JavaScript functions, etc. all belong in external files.
How to maintain a website once it has been fully validated. This can be a somewhat difficult task if there are multiple authors. The first thing that needs to be addressed in a multi-authoring environment are the Editors being used to make website modifications. We'll assume that everybody on your team are using tools that work seamlessly with one another. Those tools will all need to be configured to produce code to an exacting standard so that all authors are writing code under the same guidelines.
This is an imperative first step. If one author has their HTML Editor set to use 2 spaces for a tab and another author has theirs set to use 4 spaces for a tab, the HTML is going to become a mess. Full of unwanted white space that makes for a disorganized working environment. Every time an author saves a page, the previous authors settings are overwritten. Unless of course you've made adjustments for this and your program allows the preserving of existing HTML. Either way, multi-authoring environments require a strict set of author guidelines to ensure that coding standards and validation are maintained.

Note: If you are using a CMS (Content Management System), some of the above will not apply. There should still be standards in place for managing content no matter what type of tool is being used.
How to promote your Certified HTML Professional status. We were kidding at first when we developed our 120x60 banner showing Certified status. Little did we know that it may become a viable mark of excellence.