"Last Modified"

Is there a standard format for it?

[HyperGeek]

I'm going over a new site with a fine tooth comb with the W3C HTML Validator.

Is there a basic format in which we should write our "Last Modified" page information?

Does it even matter? I remember reading something about a standard and just wanted to make sure that we adhere to it if there is.

[tedster]

There's a great thread about date formats - [webmasterworld.com...]

Is that what you're asking about?

[rewboss]

Well, there's the format that's contained in the document header which is standardized, and you can't change it. Then there's the format that you display on your page for people to read, and that can probably be formatted in whichever way you feel benefits your intended audience most.

[HyperGeek]

Okay, thanks guys.

This was basically what I was looking for:

YYYY-MM-DDThh:mmTZD (eg 1997-07-16T19:20+01:00)

[g1smd]

That format is known as ISO 8601 [EN 28601 in Europe] [ANSI X3.30 in USA], and is now also contained in RFC 3339 "Date and Time on the Internet - Timestamps" available at ftp://ftp.rfc-editor.org/in-notes/rfc3339.txt .

[DrDoc]

Don't use information about when the page was "Last updated" unless it is frequently updated! ;)

Personally, it scares me when I visit a page and it says "Last updated: 2000-10-10" or something like that ..

It's worth keeping in mind ;)

[rewboss]

Incidentally, I find the wording "Last updated" or "Last modified" to be unnecessarily geeky. It depends on the site and its audience, of course, but there are all sorts of variations. And it's not always necessary to give an exact date and time. Here are some possibilities:

Information correct as of 14th August 2002
August edition
First published 2002-08-14
Valid from 14 to 22 August
August 2002

"Last modified" is technical jargon. "Last updated" is appropriate for news, weather reports, stock market reports and the like.