People with poor eyesight may have pages rearranged and magnified for easier reading. As we will explain, there are also many practical reasons for developers to be concerned with Web standards. Search engines can do a better job of indexing sites, for example. Using browser-specific code often doubles or triples the work to create Web pages, and leaves a lot to be desired when new media are introduced. This situation will only get worse without the sound direction of Web standards.
Some people fear that standards are limiting.
In reality, they remove much of the tedious labour involved in Web development, and give developers more time and more flexibility to be truly creative. They are both open to future improvement and mindful of past technology. Many uses of the Web, including some that are only dreamed of today, will not be possible, or will be more difficult, without widespread standards compliance. Tying ourselves to the control of any single company means limiting our future to the fortunes and misfortunes which that one company can, or will, provide. Maintaining universal standards will allow the Web to survive while encouraging innovation to continue at its current pace.