Contributing to Web Standards

Web standards ensure seamless communication across the web and establish consistency in coding practices, accessibility, security, and internalization. They are essential for maintaining a functional and compatible web environment.

Key organizations that govern web standards include IEEE, WhatWG, ECMA, Unicode, ISO, IETF, W3C, and IANA. These bodies oversee various aspects of web standards such as protocols, programming standards, and accessibility.

To contribute to web standards, identify your area of interest, join relevant standard bodies like W3C or WhatWG, and start participating in their meetings and discussions. You can propose changes, contribute test cases, or improve specifications.

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is a key standard body that oversees standards across HTML, CSS, SVG, and web APIs. It has various working groups, interest groups, and community groups involved in developing these standards.

TC39 is a committee within ECMA International responsible for ECMAScript standards, which define JavaScript's syntax, semantics, and features. It plays a crucial role in evolving JavaScript and ensuring its compatibility and functionality.

Proposing a web standard involves identifying a problem, creating an initial idea (stage zero), developing draft text and examples (stage two), gathering real-world feedback (stage three), and finalizing the proposal for implementation (stage four).

Start with introductory guides provided by standard bodies, ask questions, find mentors, and gradually participate in discussions. Reviewing GitHub specifications and following relevant forums can also help in understanding web standards.

Future web standards focus on privacy, security, user control, performance, energy efficiency, expanding web capabilities like WebGPU, and AI-specific initiatives. Collaboration between browser vendors, developers, and users is also a key trend.

Hemant is a senior manager at PayPal and a Google developer expert for web and payments technology. He contributes to web standards by participating in communities like TC39, RegMa, Node.js Foundation, and WhatWG.