Our 'future-proof' pages

Faster, easier and more useful.

Our new web pages conform to what are known as 'web standards.' Simply put, there is less 'geek speak' under the hood to slow things down. Web standards are technologies, established by the W3C and others, that create and display what you see here. They are designed to future-proof these pages and to make them accessible to as many people as possible.

When a website follows 'web standards,' it means that besides being more useful, it also:

    » consists of valid XHTML

    » uses CSS instead of tables for layout

    » is properly structured and semantically marked up

    » works in any web browser

Note that “works in any web browser” does not mean “looks the same in every web browser.” Making a document look identical across browsers and platforms is next to impossible. Using only large images for headlines and information can't make a website look exactly the same everywhere. Documents that are published on the web will be accessed by a wide variety of browsing devices on several operating systems, with monitors of differing size and quality (or no monitor at all), by users who may have changed their browser’s default text size and other preferences. Web standards, however, do give everyone the same information. Going forward, that means that when the day arrives you get your new web-enabled cellular phone and are surfing New Departures' website for our latest 'Exclusive Excursion,' the information will be there, in a format your new gadget can read.

Why use web standards?

Common arguments are It’s too difficult, It works fine already or Why reinvent the wheel?. There are many benefits to bringing you our website using this new technology:

    » Simpler development and maintenance: Using more semantic and structured HTML makes it easier and quicker to update the information you came looking for in the first place.

    » Compatibility with future web browsers: When we use defined standards and valid code, we are esentially attempting to 'future-proof' these pages by reducing the chance that future web browsers not being able to understand the "geek-speek" under the hood.

    » Faster download and rendering of web pages: Less HTML results in smaller file sizes and quicker downloads. Modern web browsers render pages faster when they are in their standards mode than when they are in their 'backwards compatible' mode. Our website was over six years old.

    » Better accessibility: When structure is separated from presentation, it makes it easier for screen readers and alternative browsing devices to interpret the content.

    » Better search engine rankings: The separation of content and presentation makes the content represent a larger part of the total file size. Combined with semantic markup this will improve search engine rankings.

    » Simpler adaptation: A semantically marked up document can be easily adapted to print and alternative browsing devices, like handheld computers and cellular phones, just by linking to a different CSS file. You can also make site-wide changes to presentation by editing a single file.

Web standards can save time and money, and provide a better experience for visitors. Besides, web standards are the future. If you’re not using web standards already, now is the time to start, or you will risk being left behind.

Faster, cheaper and less complicated.

Isn't this what they promised us all along with these darned computers?! Instant gratification: click on a link and it works. When you come to our site, everything loads quickly. You find the information you need easily. And once you've made your decision, doing business with us is just a click or email away. The service you expect from New Departures, without the world wide wait. If there is anything you need from us, click soon, click often.