Is W3 Validation essential for a page to display properly?
No – it is not essential, but without it, your site may have major problems with future web browsers. Extensive browser testing can, at least in part, be used instead of writing correct HTML code – for current browsers ONLY. However, coding invalid HTML will generally cause cross-browser display issues, further code is then added by designers to code around browser display issuesm, by outputting different code based on the browser being used to view the page. This approach leads to “spaghetti code” which increases the costs to maintain the site, and will nearly always need to be changed or updated when new browsers come out. The easiest way to rid the headaches and potential pitfalls of future compatibiliy, is to code VALID HTML in the first place.
