WebAIM - Web Accessibility In Mind

E-mail List Archives

Re: Is doctype really important

for

From: Paul Bohman
Date: Mar 14, 2004 6:43PM

When it comes right down to it, if the page is coded with all of the
appropriate accessibility features, the doctype is not important. A
missing doctype is not going to break the accessibility of the page if
everything else is done well.

However, a missing doctype is usually symptomatic of additional
problems, and indicates a bit of laziness on the part of the developer.
Chances are that if you're not coding in valid HTML, you're also
forgetting other things, whether you realize it or not.

And, as you mentioned, browsers are better able to serve out the content
when the doctype is present.

Chris Price wrote:
> How important is a doctype in terms of accessibility and can the lack of one
> make any real difference when it comes to a table based layout.


--
Paul Ryan Bohman
Web Accessibility Specialist/Project Coordinator
WebAIM (Web Accessibility in Mind)
www.webaim.org
Center for Persons with Disabilities
www.cpd.usu.edu
Utah State University
www.usu.edu



----
To subscribe, unsubscribe, suspend, or view list archives,
visit http://www.webaim.org/discussion/