Section 3: Evaluation and Validation Tools

If you were to do a simple search for HTML Validators, you would find a wide variety of HTML validation tools at your disposal. Some validation tools are free for use - offering basic HTML checking, whereas others are subscription based and offer premium services that check a variety of scripting languages used in webpage development (i.e., HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP, etc.).

Validation Tools Common Features

While there are a lot of different validation tools to choose from, most of them share basic features such as:

  • Multiple Validation Formats - For instance, most validation tools allow you to:

    • Upload an HTML file for validation.
    • Link to an HTML file on the internet for validation.
    • Copy HTML source directly into the tool for validation.

  • Validation Reports that identify HTML errors and provide clarification and guidance for correcting the errors.

Industry Standard Validation Tools

With so many validation tools available, a new web developer might wonder which tools are considered "industry standards". The validation tools listed below are free, tried-and-true, no-nonsense tools that when used consistently can greatly improve the accessibility and performance of a webpage or web site.