The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) have redesigned in full XHTML strict and CSS. And, don't get me wrong, it's great to see that it's actually possibly to build a site that embraces these standards/ technologies.

However, I still can't help but feel that the W3C should ALSO serve as a showcase for a nicely designed website - and in that area the site certainly falls short.

The W3C site looks dull, unappetizing, and utterly uninspiring and as a designer I found myself thinking, "wait a minute - if this is what a standards-compatible site looks like, I think I'll just stick to HTML 4 / XHTML transitional and a mixture of css & tables".

So, here's my plea to the W3C - try getting a designer involved with your next re-design, and try creating a site that actually shows the nice & beautiful things you can do with standards-compatible code.