This allows the browser to present the rest of the page even if the images have not fully loaded. Many people also browse without loading images to reduce downloading times.
Furthermore, the accessibility of a website is very important in conjunction with HTML. HTML standards are designed to remain as backward-compatible as possible while also attempting to be as forward-compatible as possible (Richmond, 2003). Better HTML compliance guarantees that a greater number of users will be able to view the web site you are designing without any problems or omissions. It is extremely important to follow standards to ensure everyone will have equal access to the site.
In the past, web developers have always used the traditional HTML format for creating web sites. Introduced in 1996, "Extensible Markup Language (XML) was initially intended to function in the place of Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) as the standard format used to define online document structure (Obasanjo, 2003). These intentions are proving inevitable as business organizations begin to realize the real potential found in the family of XML technologies. One such organization that has actually realized these benefits in several facets of their operations is Freightliner, a division of Daimler Chrysler who designs, manufactures, and sells specialized commercial vehicles (Kotok, 2003). XML, a subset of the Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) is very similar to HTML in that it was specifically designed to address the issue of writing documents for the web (December, 2003). Additionally, XML, like HTML, uses bracketed Open and Close tags within the code. However, there is a difference between the two.
First, HTML users are stuck with a fixed set of elements and entities. The developers cannot create their own tags to more accurately describe their data. Second, HTML does not support the creation of nested tags, which would be used to describe and represent databases or object hierarchies.