Page styles
The quality model Web Guidelines stipulates that there must be a clear division between the structure and presentation of information (Requirement E-3.6). The structure of a website must be set up using HTML or XHTML while CSS must be used for the presentation (Guideline R-pd.1.1) This website has also been constructed in compliance with this guideline.
Three versions
Three versions have been made for the presentation of the same content:
- The standard presentation based on the style of the old site of Advies overheid.nl
- A presentation that puts more emphasis on transparency
- A high-contrast version to improves readability for the visually impaired
In addition, it is possible to view the content of the website without any attempt at presentation (page style ‘None’). The website remains perfectly readable, which complies with guideline R-pd.9.2: After all, pages should remain usable if a web browser fails to support Cascading Style Sheets.
Separation of structure and presentation
These four examples are used to show how a web administrator can benefit from a clear separation of structure and presentation:
- The presentation of the website is simple and therefore relatively inexpensive to update.
- Updating the presentation is separate from updating the structure and technology. This reduces risks when updating the website
- The website remains readable for visitors with browsers that do not support CSS, for instance, people with an older browser or a screen reader
