HTML 5: What Tech Writers Need to Consider
Wow. I knew that there were many items to consider when writing documentation these days. However, there is much more than I realized. For example, today I started looking at HTML 5 more in-depth. As I read through the information on the W3C site, it became clear that big changes are in store that will affect technical writers.
In HTML 5, a large number of elements will possibly be relegated to setup in CSS only. The major one I noticed initially is tables, as use of tables is obviously prevalent in docs. It appears that presentation elements will be handled through CSS. That includes everything, basically: width, padding, height, and borders are among the attributes that are changing.
Given all these changes, I looked at the current state of CSS on the W3C website. Version 2.1 is now in Candidate Recommendation status.
Frame support will also be discontinued. I imagine that most people do not use frames at this point. If you are, consider stopping that practice. Frames are also not recommended for mobile devices, and search engines have difficulty reading them as well.
References to Review
HTML 5 differences from HTML 4
Recommendations
Move all presentation configuration to a CSS file
While work will continue to evolve with HTML 5, it may be difficult to know what to include or not. However, I think that at this point, if you’re not already, you can at least focus on moving all presentation configuration to a CSS file, particularly for tables. Use the information on the W3C site as a guide, and realize that development is yet in progress.
Discontinue use of frames
For reasons noted above, it’s best to avoid use of frames.
Keep up with changes
On my Twitter feed, I’ve listed some links related to HTML 5 and will continue to do so. I’ll also note feeds that may be helpful to follow in a #followfriday entry. Keep in mind, too, that this will also affect mobile items.
I need to look at all this in more detail, and determine how it might affect XML and XSL files. For the moment, just be aware: there are even more items to plan for when setting up your documentation. Don’t assume that your style sheets of today will be adequate for docs down the road.