Microformats: Getting the Most Out of Your HTML

Think of microformats as a way to build upon the standard. They are a way to interpret data from the simpler parts up. Microformats can help your web page visitors easily find certain specific information from your page. Users are able to get more value out of the information you are providing. Specific information like contact details can be processed automatically by software. Email software and web crawlers can identify this data and determine what it means, unlike similar microformat code used in the past. If you are coding an HTML based page that presents readable and useful information you can use a microformat to make that information become both machine and human readable. This means they can really come in handy for community based sites or anywhere there is published information about events, times and people. Microformats are embedded, and can be put anywhere that XHTML is allowed. This is a great way to use XHTML for data. The best part is, you do not have to make changes to the code or page you already have published, you just embed the microformats into what you already have made. There is no hassle with learning a new language or uploading new files to your server. Microformats can also be easily used within existing CSS. Developers have been researching similar ideas about embedding information into HTML for years but the work is just now coming into real fruition. This is a simple answer to many complex problems web developers have come across over the years. Even Microsoft is looking at ways to implement this technology to create more intelligent data. Many developers see microformats as a fantastic step in the HTML coding evolution.

When coding HTML it can be easy to forget that someone will eventually have to maintain your code. Even if it's yourself working on your own site some time later, microformats are easy to deal with and highly maintainable.

Microformats are open source. Anyone can create a new script and give it away. Many microformat scripts are already available on the web for use on your site.

You will want to be part of the first in line to use this exciting technology. While it is not necessarily crucial to web sites now, it will be more important to your site as the web evolves. Since microformats are a new way of dealing with existing information, you will want to do all the reading you can on the subject to get yourself familiar with it. Here are some links to get you started:

Microformats.org - The official home of microformatting technology with a large community and mailing list to take advantage of.
Microformat Wiki - This is a great place to introduce yourself to microformatting and contains many resources.

Source: Microformats.org