More: Business Benefits of Web Standards

Recently, Rob wrote a blog about Business benefits of web standards.

I just ran into a real-world scenario where standards compliance actually saved money. Our home needed some work done on the fireplace chimney. I got an estimate that broke down the cost of materials and labor. At the bottom of the estimate was a note about code compliance.

*Note: Quoted price assumes that chimney has been built according to Code with the required airspace around the tile liner, thus allowing for relative ease of removal of the tiles.

If the tiles are improperly "mudded in", resulting in extreme difficulty in removing them, then a supplemental charge will be involved.

Though this example has nothing to do with the Internet, the same concept is applied to any web re-design project. Whether the developer actually makes note of it or not, any decent web developer will look at the current state of the website, figure out if it's built with valid markup, and charge more if the content and markup are improperly "mudded in".