If you’re a client, you might have heard the term before but probably haven’t gotten a clear explanation on exactly what Web Standards are. If you’re a web designer, you’ve probably fumbled a few times trying to explain it to your clients without going into a long jargon ridden diatribe. Being the no bullshit kind of guy I am, I’ve been looking to create an easy way to explain Web Standards that illustrates the importance, while also emphasizing the return on investment that clients can gain.

Messing around earlier this week, I started writing down various analogies I thought would help to explain web standards to my clients. Some are succinct and straight forward, others are corny and obtuse, but all are direct representations into the world of our industry that is web standards.

Here’s what I have so far:

• Separating the style from the content is like being able to put any car engine into the the chassis of your choice.
• Content and style go together like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, without each other your website will either be two sweet or hard to swallow.
• Separating content and style is like separating your laundry. If you washed everything together you’d end up with funky colors and people would laugh at you (not in a good way).
• Understanding web standards means understanding the secret to health: keep your style clean and your body slim.
• Web standards is cheaper than having to take phone calls from your CEO at 3am asking why the website won’t work on his blueberry colored iMac.
• Web standards can help change the face of web design, one table plagued website at a time.
• Following web standards is like following Moses through the desert, while you’re doing it you wonder where the hell you are, but once you get through it you realize it was all worth it.
• Content and style are separated at birth yet always understand what the other is thinking, just like those orphaned twins you always see on Maury.
• Web standards is the cheapest date you could take to the web design prom and it’ll give you a good return on your investment before the sun comes up.
• Content is like a nice lager, it should have a nice frothy head with a smooth body. While style is like a good dessert wine, it should be a little fruity to the novice, maybe even nutty, but never bitter.

That’s all I’ve got – feel free to let me know some of yours and I’ll add them to the list!