My website looks awesome; isn't that all that matters?  Well, maybe, but it's important to remember that there are lots of browsers, not just the one on your computer, and they render your site the way their developers intended, not necessarily the way you did.  If your website can't be viewed on the majority of the available browsers, you may lose out on a lot of traffic.  Oh yeah, and by the way, did you know that some of those web browsers never actually display an image?  They are called Text-Only Browsers, and their sole job is to convert your website for viewers with disabilities into text.  That's right, Just Text!

So, how can you make sure your website is ready for this kind of action?  Through code validation.  Using a code validator, you will be able to check your code for compliance with web standards and recommendations that have been set by the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium).  These code validators are actually pieces of software, often available as online tools or by download from the internet for offline use.  Not only do they check for errors, but many of them will even make recommendations for improvements to your code. And clean code is a sure sign of a webmaster's professionalism.

So, while we are on the subject of code validation, let's talk about some of the benefits besides Cross-Browser Compatibility and Accessibility.  Code validation will also help you in the following areas:

• Search Engine Optimization - spiders read coder from top down but stop when they run across an error.
  
• Future Compliance - as browsers are created or maintained, they evolve to look more and more like those defined by the W3C and less like the days of yore.
  
• Easier Maintenance - maintaining clean code with well-defined cascading style sheets is much easier.
  

If you are looking for a code validator to validate your HTML, Cascading Style Sheets, Hyperlinks, or Accessibility you can begin with a search on the internet.  However, Dustin Betonio recently published a list of 30 Tools on TripWire Magazine.  You should be able to find just about everything you are looking for in these lists.

"The true mystery of the world is the visible, not the invisible."  ~Oscar Wilde