This just in: Standards work!

As many of you will already be aware, I’m currently employed during the day at Rentokil Initial, a large multinational business services company, as senior web developer. My role includes recommending technical solutions and defining internal standards.

Over the past few years I had continually been recommending the use of web standards in all our developments, be they internal intranets or customer-facing websites. With the help of some of my fellow developers, we managed to convince management that, by adopting web standards, we could improve every aspect of the customers experience on our corporate site.

On the 9th of September, last year, we relaunched. Even though we weren’t all completely happy with the design (some arguments are never ending), we felt the site was a significant improvement on previous versions. Our views, however, are unimportant in comparison with those of the company big-wigs who form their opinions with help from the infinite wisdom of reports supplied by consultancies such as Sitemorse (cue theatrical booing). For this reason, it’s important that we do well in the quarterly Sitemorse report.

By the time I relaunched my own site in May, the site had risen from 80th to 4th.

Well this just in, dear reader; one year down the line we’re using web standards for everything and http://www.rentokil-initial.com/ is the all new Sitemorse number one for the FTSE100!

Holy intelligent layers of separation, Batman! Web standards (and the resultant web standards philosophy) appear to bloody WORK!

Ok, I’ve said my piece. Feel free to carry on about your business…