It’s the month of May and that can only mean one thing — it’s time for Standards Reboot 2007. That’s right, the code is validating (sort of), the content has been separated from style (kind of) and the sweet smell of CSS and web standards are in the air (at least I think that’s what I smell). This year we saw 105 sites rebooted, however, the results were some what mixed. Check out our breakdown, plus thoughts on the event as a whole below.

This Year’s Event

This year’s Standards Reboot was a success in many respects and stood head and shoulders above the competition. I don’t know if it was the disorganization, the design, the CMS used to power it or all the negative publicity — but this year’s CSS Reboot was horrible. The site is poorly managed now and has lost a lot of it’s credibility since it was sold some months ago. I think it’s pretty obvious that the Standards Reboot is primed to be the go-to web standards advocate every May. I don’t like beating a dead horse, so if you want to know more about my feelings check out this article.

The Validation Breakdown

Even with it’s much improved showing and better participation, the Standards Reboot still hasn’t reached it’s fullest potential. Of the 105 sites that “rebooted” this year, 49 of them validated in both XHTML and CSS. That’s roughly 46%. This doesn’t seem like a lot to me, especially for an event that is based on these parameters. On the plus side though, I think those numbers are up from last year, which is definitely a good thing. Obviously the goal is to have all sites submitted to validate on all levels. However, given that many sites reboot for the possible attention rather than the actual cause, I’m not sure how likely this is.

What to expect next year

I hope that this event continues to grow and receive the publicity it needs. Web standards are obviously here to stay — many mainstream companies are looking at the benefits and adopting the standards mantra. That being said, the underlying message of Standards Reboot is not about popularity, getting a ton of traffic and half-ass validation (although those things do happen when you submit your site). It’s about (and will always be about) creating awareness and a place for folks to see the true power and flexibility behind standards-based design.