First Public Working Drafts: Open Screen Application Protocol and Network Protocol

 The Second Screen Working Group has published two First Public Working Drafts: Open Screen Application Protocol and Open Screen Network Protocol. These documents result from splitting the Open Screen Protocol document into two independent parts. The Open Screen Application Protocol allows user agents to implement the Presentation API and the Remote Playback API in an interoperable fashion. The Open Screen Network Protocol is a network protocol that allows two Open Screen agents to establish a secure network transport in an interoperable fashion

First Public Working Draft: Pointer Events Level 4

 The Pointer Events Working Group has published the First Public Working Draft of Pointer Events Level 4. The features in this specification extend or modify those found in Pointer Events, a W3C Recommendation that describes events and related interfaces for handling hardware agnostic pointer input from devices including a mouse, pen, touchscreen, etc. For compatibility with existing mouse based content, this specification also describes a mapping to fire Mouse Events for other pointer device types.

W3C receives Ford Foundation core funding toward development of web accessibility work

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has received US$ 660,037 in core funding from the Ford Foundation via their Technology and Society program, to provide core support through July 2026 to W3C's Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) work developing web accessibility standards, guidelines, and implementation resources to support access for people with disabilities.

This funding is significant both as it helps further our work in accessibility, and is the first we receive since we established in January 2023 as a US public-interest non-profit organization.

W3C Invites Implementations of Device Posture API

The Devices and Sensors Working Group has published Device Posture API as a W3C Candidate Recommendation. This document specifies an API that allows web applications to request and be notified of changes of the posture of a device. 

SEO in 2024: Key Trends to Keep Your Content at the Top of Search Results

 Here’s a summary of the latest trends in SEO for 2024 to help keep your digital strategy up to date:

1. Answer Engine Optimization (AEO)

As AI chatbots and voice assistants become more popular, SEO is shifting to "Answer Engine Optimization" (AEO), which focuses on structuring content to answer direct questions quickly and clearly. This trend aligns with how AI, like Google SGE and ChatGPT, retrieves information by pulling answers from easily digestible and well-structured content. Including FAQs, using Q&A formats, and focusing on conversational keywords can help capture these AI-driven searches​

2. Zero-Click Searches

Zero-click searches are increasing, with users frequently finding answers directly in search engine results, eliminating the need to visit a website. This trend is driven by featured snippets, knowledge panels, and other SERP enhancements that provide immediate answers. To adapt, create content that directly addresses common questions, optimizes for featured snippets, and uses schema markup to ensure search engines can display your content in these direct answer formats​

3. Topical Authority

Google and other search engines are increasingly emphasizing "topical authority," meaning they prioritize websites that provide comprehensive expertise on a specific subject. Establishing topical authority involves creating an extensive content network on related subtopics, using internal linking to strengthen topic clusters, and ensuring content reflects high expertise and trustworthiness (aligned with Google’s E-E-A-T guidelines)​

4. Video SEO

With digital video consumption on the rise, optimizing video content for search visibility is key in 2024. Videos should target specific keywords in titles, descriptions, and tags, and be embedded in web pages with relevant textual content. Video SEO not only boosts engagement but can help capture mobile and YouTube traffic, as Google increasingly integrates video content within SERPs​

5. Content Refreshes

In the face of rapid content turnover and SEO competition, updating older content has become vital. This involves revisiting popular articles to incorporate the latest data, trends, and insights, which keeps the content relevant and can boost its position on search results over time​

6. Generative AI in Search (Google SGE)

Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE) represents a significant shift, using AI to generate comprehensive answers directly on the SERP. Content that is clear, concise, and rich in authoritative insights is best positioned to be used by SGE. As Google’s AI continues to evolve, optimizing content for these generative algorithms will be crucial for maintaining visibility​

Keeping up with these trends can help enhance visibility and engagement, ensuring your site remains relevant as search engine capabilities evolve."From AEO to Video SEO: The Latest SEO Strategies to Stay Ahead in 2024"

"How AI is Shaping SEO in 2024: Answer Engine Optimization, Zero-Click Searches, and More"

"Future-Proof Your SEO Strategy: Top Updates and Trends for 2024"

"SEO 2024: Adapting to Google SGE, Topical Authority, and the Rise of Zero-Click Searches"

"Optimizing for AI and Beyond: The Must-Know SEO Trends for 2024"

"Mastering SEO in 2024: Essential Updates to Boost Visibility in the New Search Landscape"

First Public Working Draft: Audio Session

 The Media Working Group has published the First Public Working Draft of Audio Session. This API defines an API surface for controlling how audio is rendered and interacts with other audio playing applications, allowing for better audio mixing or exclusive playback, depending on the context, to provide a more consistent and integrated media experience across devices.

First Public Working Draft: Web Audio API 1.1

 The Audio Working Group has published a First Public Working Draft of Web Audio API 1.1. This specification describes a high-level Web API for processing and synthesizing audio in web applications. The primary paradigm is of an audio routing graph, where a number of AudioNode objects are connected together to define the overall audio rendering. The actual processing will primarily take place in the underlying implementation (typically optimized Assembly / C / C++ code), but direct script processing and synthesis is also supported.

The Introduction section covers the motivation behind this specification.

This API is designed to be used in conjunction with other APIs and elements on the web platform, notably: XMLHttpRequest [XHR] (using the responseType and response attributes). For games and interactive applications, it is anticipated to be used with the canvas 2D [2dcontext] and WebGL [WEBGL] 3D graphics APIs.

Last Call for Review of Proposed Amendments: WebRTC: Real-Time Communication in Browsers

 The Web Real-Time Communications Working Group has proposed amendments, including both corrections and additions, to the W3C Recommendation of WebRTC: Real-Time Communication in Browsers. This document defines a set of ECMAScript APIs in WebIDL to allow media and generic application data to be sent to and received from another browser or device implementing the appropriate set of real-time protocols. This specification is being developed in conjunction with a protocol specification developed by the IETF RTCWEB group and an API specification to get access to local media devices.

Proposed corrections and additions since the January 2021 Recommendation are listed in an appendix to the document. Comments, including implementation experience, are welcome via GitHub through 8 December 2024.

WCAG2ICT Published as W3C Group Note

 The Accessibility Guidelines Working Group (AG WG) published Guidance on Applying WCAG 2 to Non-Web Information and Communications Technologies (WCAG2ICT) as a completed W3C Group Note. WCAG2ICT describes how Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) principles, guidelines, and success criteria can be applied to non-web information and communications technologies (ICT), specifically to non-web documents and software. The Note includes guidance for WCAG 2.0, 2.1, and 2.2 success criteria and glossary terms. For an introduction, see: WCAG2ICT Overview.

First Public Working Draft: CSS Grid Layout Module Level 3

 The CSS Working Group has published a First Public Working Draft of CSS Grid Layout Module Level 3. This module introduces masonry layout as an additional layout mode for CSS Grid containers.

First Public Working Draft: CSS Values and Units Module Level 5

 The CSS Working Group has published a First Public Working Draft of CSS Values and Units Module Level 5. This CSS module describes the common values and units that CSS properties accept and the syntax used for describing them in CSS property definitions.

W3C announces Sylvia Cadena as inaugural Chief Development Officer

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is hiring an inaugural Chief Development Officer. Sylvia Cadena joins the Team full-time mid-September, working remotely from Brisbane, Australia.

W3C became a public-interest incorporated not-for-profit organization in 2023, a pivotal evolution since our establishment in 1994 as a cooperation between four academic institutions, compelling us to adopt a new structure, diversify funding to be in a better position to succeed in our mission. Sylvia joins us at this decisive time to help us set direction and ensure the longevity of our organization by defining our vision for financial security and development, by planning and implementing strategies to secure donors, grants, and contributions in support of the organization, and by communicating effectively the organization’s philanthropic value proposition, thus accelerating growth and success of our development portfolio.

Learn more about Sylvia's background and new role in our press release.

First Public Working Draft: CSS Easing Functions Level 2

 The CSS Working Group has published a First Public Working Draft of CSS Easing Functions Level 2. This CSS module describes a way for authors to define a transformation that controls the rate of change of some value. Applied to animations, such transformations can be used to produce animations that mimic physical phenomena such as momentum or to cause the animation to move in discrete steps producing robot-like movement. Level 2 adds more sophisticated functions for custom easing curves.

Data Catalog Vocabulary (DCAT) - Version 3 is a W3C Recommendation

The Dataset Exchange Working Group published Data Catalog Vocabulary (DCAT) - Version 3 as a W3C Recommendation. DCAT is an RDF vocabulary designed to facilitate interoperability between data catalogs published on the Web. This document defines the schema and provides examples for its use. 

DCAT enables a publisher to describe datasets and data services in a catalog using a standard model and vocabulary that facilitates the consumption and aggregation of metadata from multiple catalogs. This can increase the discoverability of datasets and data services. It also makes it possible to have a decentralized approach to publishing data catalogs and makes federated search for datasets across catalogs in multiple sites possible using the same query mechanism and structure. Aggregated DCAT metadata can serve as a manifest file as part of the digital preservation process.

First Public Working Draft: Federated Credential Management API

 The Federated Identity Working Group has published a First Public Working Draft of Federated Credential Management API, a Web Platform API that allows users to login to websites with their federated accounts in a privacy preserving manner.

Hiring: W3C Director of Legal and Compliance

We are working with Virtual, in our search for a Director of Legal and Compliance, to find qualified candidates with experience in non-profit organizations, for full-time remote work in the USA, to ensure W3C operates in full compliance with all applicable laws and regulations throughout the world, to advise on all legal matters, to guide the organization's policies, ultimately furthering our mission and goals.

To apply, please refer to the vacancy page on Virtual's website.

The position is for remote work from anywhere in the USA.

Updated W3C Recommendation: WOFF File Format 2.0

The Web Fonts Working Group has published WOFF File Format 2.0 as an updated W3C Recommendation. Based on experience with WOFF 1.0, which is widely deployed, this specification was developed to provide improved compression and thus lower use of network bandwidth, while still allowing fast decompression even on mobile devices. This is achieved by combining a content-aware preprocessing step and improved entropy coding, compared to the Flate compression used in WOFF 1.0.

W3C opens community-wide survey

 For the first time, W3C is conducting a community-wide survey. 

We want to get to know our community better, investigate needs, and understand our community’s vision of how we fulfill our mission for the world-wide web. 

This survey is being run through Typeform, an online survey platform that supports all major operating systems, is accessible, and has been tested to confirm compatibility with assistive technologies. 

This survey is open to W3C Members and people who participate in W3C group activities, and anyone involved in the Web. It is anonymous and takes 6 minutes or more to complete. 

W3C Members received a different link as we have 4 additional questions specific to W3C Members. So two versions of the survey are being circulated, one for members and one for non-members. 

Please take the survey if you are interested in the impact of web standards on humanity and help us disseminate it by sharing it with your friends, your team(s), your networks, etc.

The survey closes on Friday 13 September 2024. We look forward to hearing from you!

• English: Members ・ external
• French: Members ・ external
• Japanese: Members ・ external
• Chinese: Members ・ external

W3C Invites Implementations of Payment Request API

 The Web Payments Working Group has republished Payment Request API as a W3C Candidate Recommendation. This specification standardizes an API to allow merchants (i.e. web sites selling physical or digital goods) to utilize one or more payment methods with minimal integration. User agents (e.g., browsers) facilitate the payment flow between merchant and user. 

First Public Working Draft: CSS Scroll Snap Module Level 2

 The CSS Working Group has published a First Public Working Draft of CSS Scroll Snap Module Level 2. This module contains features to control panning and scrolling behavior with “snap positions”.

CSS is a language for describing the rendering of structured documents (such as HTML and XML) on screen, on paper, etc.

Draft Note: Collaboration Tools Accessibility User Requirements

 The Accessible Platform Architectures (APA) Research Questions Task Force (RQTF) welcomes feedback on the updated Draft W3C Group Note Collaboration Tools Accessibility User Requirements. The document covers accessibility user needs, requirements, and scenarios for collaborative content creation and development tools. The solutions identified in this document are intended to influence the evolution of future accessibility guidelines, technical specifications, or features of collaboration tools and assistive technologies. They are also relevant to software developers who contribute to developing the collaborative experience. Questions for this review are in e-mail for CTAUS review. Please send any comments by 30 September 2024.

Diversity report 2024

 W3C released today the 2024 diversity report. As part of our commitment and continued focus on diversity and inclusion, since 2018 we annually report on gender and geographic diversity at W3C.

We would like W3C to be a model of supporting diversity. As an international organization, we can see the immense value we gain from having greater gender diversity, and expertise from across multiple countries and cultures. The diversity of the whole world needs to be reflected, as 66% of the world is now online and as more people continue to access and use the Web that we develop the standards of, here together at the Web Consortium.

We believe that more diversity means better representation, which leads to better and more inclusive design. Indeed, more background, more use cases, more edge cases, lead to a better Web. More diversity also brings higher quality results.

Draft Note: Urdu Gap Analysis

 The Internationalization Working Group has published a first Draft Note of Urdu Gap Analysis. This document describes and prioritises gaps for the support of Urdu on the Web and in eBooks. In particular, it is concerned with text layout. It checks that needed features are supported in W3C specifications, in particular HTML and CSS and those relating to digital publications. It also checks whether the features have been implemented in browsers and ereaders. This is a preliminary analysis.

Draft Note for Wide Review: Guidance on Applying WCAG 2 to Non-Web Information and Communications Technologies (WCAG2ICT)

 The Accessibility Guidelines (AG) Working Group has published an updated Draft Group Note of Guidance on Applying WCAG 2 to Non-Web Information and Communications Technologies (WCAG2ICT). WCAG2ICT provides guidance on applying WCAG 2 to non-web documents and software. This is the planned last draft before the group publishes this as a W3C Group Note.

Updated W3C Recommendation: CSS Containment Module Level 1

 The CSS Working Group has published CSS Containment Module Level 1 as an updated W3C Recommendation, incorporating the changes since the 2022 Recommendation. This CSS module describes the contain property, which indicates that the element’s subtree is independent of the rest of the page. This enables heavy optimizations by user agents when used well.

Data Catalog Vocabulary (DCAT) - Version 3 is a W3C Proposed Recommendation

 Today the Dataset Exchange Working Group published Data Catalog Vocabulary (DCAT) - Version 3 as a W3C Proposed Recommendation. DCAT is an RDF vocabulary designed to facilitate interoperability between data catalogs published on the Web. This document defines the schema and provides examples for its use. 

DCAT enables a publisher to describe datasets and data services in a catalog using a standard model and vocabulary that facilitates the consumption and aggregation of metadata from multiple catalogs. This can increase the discoverability of datasets and data services. It also makes it possible to have a decentralized approach to publishing data catalogs and makes federated search for datasets across catalogs in multiple sites possible using the same query mechanism and structure. Aggregated DCAT metadata can serve as a manifest file as part of the digital preservation process.

Group Note: Verifiable Credentials Overview

 The Verifiable Credentials Working Group has just published a Working Group Note of Verifiable Credentials Overview.

Credentials are a part of our daily lives; driver's licenses are used to assert that we are capable of operating a motor vehicle, university degrees can be used to assert our level of education, and government-issued passports enable us to travel between countries. The family of W3C Recommendations for Verifiable Credentials, described in this overview document, provides a mechanism to express these sorts of credentials on the Web in a way that is cryptographically secure, privacy respecting, and machine-verifiable.

Authorized Translation of WCAG 2.2 in Dutch

 The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) published the Authorized Dutch Translation of Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2, Richtlijnen voor Toegankelijkheid van Webcontent (WCAG) 2.2. The Lead Translation Organization for this Authorized Translation was the Accessibility Foundation

Translations in other languages are listed in WCAG 2 Translations. W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) particularly encourages the development of Authorized Translations of WCAG 2.2 and other technical specifications to facilitate their adoption and implementation internationally. Read about the Policy for W3C Authorized Translations.

W3C Advisory Committee Elects Advisory Board

 The W3C Advisory Committee has elected the following people to fill five seats on the W3C Advisory Board (AB) starting 1 July 2024: Wei Ding, Max Gendler, Tatsuya Igarashi, Elena Lape and Florian Rivoal. They join continuing participants, Tantek Çelik, Elika J Etemad, Wendy Reid, Avneesh Singh, Chris Wilson and Song XU.

Many thanks to the 6 candidates, and thanks for contributions to the AB to the departing participants, Qing An and Tzviya Siegman, whose terms end at the end of June 2024.

Created in March 1998, the Advisory Board provides ongoing guidance to the W3C Team on issues of strategy, management, legal matters, process, and conflict resolution. The Advisory Board manages the evolution of the Process Document. The elected Members of the Advisory Board participate as individual contributors and not representatives of their organizations. Advisory Board participants use their best judgment to find the best solutions for the Web, not just for any particular network, technology, vendor, or user. Read more about the Advisory Board and its work.

W3C Invites Implementations of Propagation format for distributed context: Baggage

 The Distributed Tracing Working Group invites implementations of the Candidate Recommendation Snapshot of Propagation format for distributed context: Baggage. This specification defines a standard for representing and propagating a set of application-defined properties associated with a distributed request or workflow execution.

This is independent of the Trace Context specification. Baggage can be used regardless of whether Distributed Tracing is used. This specification standardizes representation and propagation of application-defined properties. In contrast, Trace Context specification standardizes representation and propagation of the metadata needed to enable Distributed Tracing scenarios.

The current version of the Baggage specification is targeted for implementations by applications and services, including web applications running within a browser. Web Browsers or User Agents are not currently in scope as a target implementation.

Group Note: EPUB Fixed Layout Accessibility

 The Publishing Maintenance Working Group has just published the Working Group Note EPUB Fixed Layout Accessibility. This document outlines the goals for EPUB accessible fixed layout ebooks while acknowledging the challenges unique to the EPUB Fixed Layout format.

EPUB Fixed Layout (FXL) publications, or publications where the print layout is preserved in the digital edition, have been around since before EPUB 3.0.1. These publications span a number of genres and types, from comic books, cook books, children's books, and more.

The main motivation behind creating fixed layout publications is the need to preserve the print layout of the book, either because of it's importance to the text (i.e., complex diagrams) or it's artistic purpose (i.e., illustrated text). However, these publications are often partially or completely inaccessible to people with print disabilities.

An accessible fixed layout EPUB file is one that meets the accessibility requirements of Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2 level AA and EPUB Accessibility 1.1, including color contrast, reading order, font layout, structural navigation, metadata, and text alternatives.

This note serves to help EPUB creators, publishers, and reading systems address some of the common accessibility issues found in fixed layout content including navigation, reading order, and text alternatives. This document is a companion to EPUB Accessibility 1.1, specifically for fixed layout publications.

RDF Dataset Canonicalization is a W3C Recommendation

 The RDF Dataset Canonicalization and Hash Working Group published RDF Dataset Canonicalization as a W3C Recommendation. RDF describes a graph-based data model for making claims about the world and provides the foundation for reasoning upon that graph of information. At times, it becomes necessary to compare the differences between sets of graphs, digitally sign them, or generate short identifiers for graphs via hashing algorithms. This document outlines an algorithm for normalizing RDF datasets such that these operations can be performed.

W3C Invites Implementations of Bitstring Status List v1.0

 The Verifiable Credentials Working Group invites implementations of the Candidate Recommendation Snapshot of Bitstring Status List v1.0. This specification describes a privacy-preserving, space-efficient, and high-performance mechanism for publishing status information such as suspension or revocation of Verifiable Credentials through use of bitstrings.

First Public Working Draft: CSS View Transitions Module Level 2

 The CSS Working Group has published a First Public Working Draft of CSS View Transitions Module Level 2. This module defines how the View Transition API works with cross-document navigations.

Updated Candidate Recommendation: CSS Multi-column Layout Module Level 1

 The CSS Working Group invites implementations of an updated Candidate Recommendation Snapshot of CSS Multi-column Layout Module Level 1. This specification describes multi-column layouts in CSS, a style sheet language for the web. Using functionality described in the specification, content can be flowed into multiple columns with a gap and a rule between them.

Comments are welcome via the GitHub issues by 9 July 2024