why is this happening

**Cloud** · 28 October 2010, 09:39 PM

Just checking some of the websites I've created using web designer for w3c compliance on http://www.validator.w3.org/ and some of the sites are passed but others are failed, now for the most part the errors are in the html code generated by web designer; one such error for one of my sites is

Line 109, Column 287: required attribute "alt" not specified
…span><img src="index_htm_files/0.gif" height="1px" width="134px"/> </span>

✉

The attribute given above is required for an element that you've used, but you have omitted it. For instance, in most HTML and XHTML document types the "type" attribute is required on the "script" element and the "alt" attribute is required for the "img" element.

Typical values for type are type="text/css" for <style> and type="text/javascript" for <script>

The red highlighted colour is the error spotted. Some errors are to de with place holders such as Paypal. What can i do to fix this and why is web designer producing such stuff.

I know it is not a HTML editor and I love it because of that and the sites work fine and customers have not complained - but it still would be nice if I could put the W3C compliance logo on the sites.

The main reason it bothers me is that some of the sites are fine and do not bring up any errors at all.

Just my 2 half-pennies worth but I wonder if others have come across this.

Kash

**gwpriester** · 28 October 2010, 10:12 PM

I am not sure that this is a problem. Then again I am not sure that it is not. Could I be more vague. Maybe.

But the first error, alt not specified refers to the fact you have an image but have not added Alt text to identify the image. And Alt tag (Image tabbed section) provides information to search engines or to persons visiting your page who have images turned off. How many of those still exist I cannot imagine but if there are any visitors with images turned off on their browsers, then I suspect they are also viewing images in 64 colors.

**zaphodeist** · 28 October 2010, 10:38 PM

Originally Posted by skech

...for the most part the errors are in the html code generated by web designer... What can i do to fix this and why is web designer producing such stuff...

Sorry Kash, got to defend XaraWD here ... maybe

To clarify, is the code you quote actually provided by a third party - PayPal or something? If so XWD can't be at fault for that as it hasn't 'produced' it. Alt and Title can be added from Web Properties dialogue, it's not automatic.

**TomNobles** · 29 October 2010, 12:35 AM

The img tag does not have an alt attribute. Just simply add the alt="" and it will probably validate.

**Cloud** · 29 October 2010, 08:06 AM

I don't want any one to get the impression that I may be slating xara or it's products, I think that web designer is the best software product I have seen since I saw the original xara before Corel bought it. In fact I think that xara web designer is so good that I am setting up a web design business off the back of it, something that was unthinkable less than a few months ago when I first created the site for my printing company.

I think that it may be best if I learnt some basics of HTML. I also learnt something new today, if a customer does say that they need w3c html or xhtml validation because someone else has told them they need it to get a higher ranking on google (too many people say this) then I simply show them the validator check for www.google.co.uk --- it has 32 errors and 2 warnings, ebay.co.uk has 193 errors, I think everyone should use this tool to show customers that this whole w3c validation crud is simply not that important.

Kash - long live xara

**zaphodeist** · 29 October 2010, 09:37 AM

From what I can gather it isn't that important. Great idea to show your customers a comparison with e-bay

Haven't got customers as such, but when I've validated simple sites I've done for people it's nearly always 3rd party code that shows errors, including more often than not that ">" ! As a guru said on here somewhere once, if the site works and gets ranked that's all that matters. As e-bay shows

**Cloud** · 29 October 2010, 09:59 AM

that's a very wise guru - was it guru pitka?

**zaphodeist** · 29 October 2010, 10:02 AM

Probably an amalgam guru

**Cloud** · 29 October 2010, 01:28 PM

indeed!

**oldgreygeek** · 31 October 2010, 01:28 AM

In WD click on the image:
open up web properties
Click the image tab
enter a "image caption(Alt text)
this will insert a alt for that image and pass muster
Yep drove me nuts, until I read about it with Microsofts expression SEO help screens.
BTW; also under the page tab; the page keywords that you enter create <meta name> tags needed for SEO; also the page description and page title, which should not be the same, create the meta names "title" and "description" ;
the only thing that you must do with a placeholder is generate a <h1> tag which they? whomever they are, say is necessary for search engine optimazition.
hope this helps a bit,

Bob