2008 Website Building Codes
In the world of web development, it’s hard to compare apples to apples because there are no standards. Imagine how hard it would be to purchase a house if you didn’t know if the house were constructed using strict building codes. How would you know that they used strong enough materials to withstand severe weather? How would you know that the copper water lines were buried deep enough to endure cold weather? You wouldn’t, if it weren’t for building codes, permits, and inspectors overseeing the construction process.
Building codes mandate things such as the minimum number of screws used to attach a piece of sheetrock. Without codes, unscrupulous or inexperienced contractors would likely use fewer screws to cut corners and save a buck. You’d probably never know when deciding whether or not to buy the house. But months down the road, you’d begin to see the cracks at the corners and the ripples in the ceiling. When you were buying the property, you wouldn’t have known the difference because so much of the construction was hidden under the paint, texture and trim.
We understand how difficult it can be to make the decision to invest in a website when you don’t really know what’s hidden behind the “walls” and under the “floorboards”. Since the majority of every website’s construction is hidden in the code, novices have no way of knowing whether the construction crew took the time to build it right or cut corners to save time and costs. The foundation, the “framing”, “plumbing” and “electrical” are all concealed and unless you’re a professional inspector, you’d never know the difference between a nice looking site, and one that has the underground foundation to last beyond next year.
Similar to the construction industry, the building codes need to change every year as better materials and construction methods emerge. The Internet Building Code Council (IBCC) was the first organization to develop building codes for website development so you know that every certified site is constructed to the highest standards.
After more than a decade of extensive research and development, the IBCC wrote the first edition of Internet Building Codes. They have since been amended to meet the challenges of the ever-changing environment. The most recent 2008 Internet Building Codes are available here.
