Hi folks.

 

As someone new to web design can the experts please tell me about the importance of validating my websites. Surely if it all works fine then it doesn't matter what an automated code check says?

 

Why is validation important?

 

Thank you!

http://validator.w3.org/docs/help.html#validation_basics

I would always make sure your sites are coded using the correct code and validated. Its generally just good practice and will ensure your website will work correctly (unless you do something extravagant. Also it will make your site more appealing to search bots crawling your site.

I find that trying to work towards having your sites validate helps when trying to display the site (and debug) across multiple browsers.

Absolutely agree! It often finds mistakes I just don't see after staring at my code for hours!