What is the world wide web consortium (W3C)?

The world wide web consortium (W3C) is an international body that develops world wide standards for the world wide web. It was originally formed by Tim Berners Lee in 1994.  It has since grown into a large organisation that consists of member organisations from industry, academia, governments, and nonprofit groups.

What is the mission of the world wide web consortium (W3C)?

The W3C’s main goal is to make sure the world wide web can be accessed by everyone around the globe. So, they provide world wide standards that ensure web content is optimised for world wide use.

What are the world wide standards for the world wide web?

The world wide standards, or guidelines for the world wide web are based on four principles: interoperability, openness, relevance and utility.

Interoperability

The world wide standards are created to be compatible with current technologies, so that all users can access the world wide web in an equal way.

Openness

Anyone is free to use or implement the world wide standards for any purpose. The W3C does not claim ownership over these platforms and only recommends them as a starting point for business ideas. As long as developers follow their guidelines they’re able to innovate freely without restrictions from industry giants like Apple or Google.

Relevance

The world wide standards must remain relevant through time to anyone who accesses the world wide web. To remain relevant, the standards require constant updates and revisions based on user feedback and technological advances.

Utility

The world wide standards must be useful for end users, businesses and governments all around the world. In order to meet this goal, they need feedback from everyone!

What are some examples of world wide standards for the world wide web?

There are many different sets of world wide web standards: such as HTML (hypertext markup language), CSS (cascading style sheets), SVG (scalable vector graphics) and JSONP (JSON with padding).

How to become a member of the world wide web consortium (W3C)

Anyone can apply to join the world wide web consortium, but they do charge a yearly fee for membership. This membership fee goes towards funding world wide research on web technologies, updating existing world wide standards for the world wide web and representing member interests in various international organisations.

In conclusion

The W3C primarily focuses on ensuring internet-based technologies are universally accessible and interoperable with one another. Also, the W3C has played a significant role in the development of many key technologies including HTML, CSS, SVG and JSONP to name just a few! These key technologies form the basis of today’s world wide web and are what make it possible for anyone around the world to access information and communicate with one another.
If you want to ensure your web content’s optimization for world wide use, we can help! Get in touch with our team today.