LinkLib: HTML: Validators
I use HTML-Kit's (www.chami.com) which has
built-in HTML Tidy plus XML validation to check
my pages. TopStyle Lite (see below)is a good free tool for writing and checking CSS.
Xenu Link Sleuth is my link checker.
There are a lot of for-pay tools that check HTML and CSS,
including most HTML editors,
but there are also a number of free tools or websites.
- HTML Tidy
- Description: Useful HTML tidy program with lots of options.
This is now built into a number of other products (eg, HTML-Kit, ...),
so there's little need to run it separately.
URL: tidy.sourceforge.net
License: free, included with many products.
- TopStyle CSS Editor
- Description: A great CSS editor available in Pro and Lite versions.
I'm using the Lite version and like it. I wouldn't hesitate to get
the Pro version if I did more CSS.
URL: www.bradsoft.com
License: free lite version or $50 pro.
- CSE HTML Validator
- Description: The free version doesn't seem worth downloading because
of few features, and the pro version seems to expensive, but it looks good.
URL: www.htmlvalidator.com
License: Free lite version or $129 pro. Last time I looked they
had a sale, bundeled with TopStyle.
Online Validators
- www.htmlhelp.com
- Description: Free online validation for html and css.
Will check your URL, download file from local computer, or
can paste into a web page. Very nice.
URL: www.htmlhelp.com and follow Validation links.
- W3C online validator
- Description: Free HTML/CSS validation of either URL or local file.
URL: validator.w3.org
- More validators
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Link Validators
- Xenu's Link Sleuth
Recommended link validator. I use it and like it. Very nice.
Only bug - it doesn't find all orphan files.
URL: home.snafu.de/tilman/xinulink.html
License: free.
- www.resoftware.com Web Link Evaluator 2.0 4 cows, $27 30-day trial
- www.kyosoft.com KyoSoft Link Checker 1.1.74 $40, 30-day trial,
Altho highly rated by by Tucows, I didn't think it was great.
- The output shows lists of missing links, not the pages they are on,
which can be found be hovering over one of the fields, but very awkward.
It should show this more important info, and sort it so all problems
in the same page can be fixed at once. Nor does it give the line number
of the error.
- It loads external pages! This takes a lot of time for no value.
It only has one thread running so this operation takes a lot of time.
- It doesn't retry timed-out sites.
- Depth and external control may be there, but they weren't among the many
buttons which control most of the options. I was unhappy enuf by then
not to look too hard.
It worked, but it didn't make me very happy. Not happy enuf to pay for it.
Button to validate your pages
