When is an HTML/CSS expert as valuable as a JavaScript expert?

[laras126]

In this day and age, there is undoubtedly a hyper-focus on JavaScript in front-end development, but expertise in HTML and CSS also undoubtedly have a place. What is it?

[armaneous]

I think they're valuable when it hits the bottom line of a business, which is probably true for most things.

For example, current search engine optimization (SEO) best practices, the things that help websites rank higher in search results, include a good content-to-code ratio. The more content you have relative to code, the better you rank. A lot of excess HTML comes from lack of understanding of proper HTML and contextually valuable HTML.

Are proper headings used? When is it appropriate to use <em> vs <strong>? When SEO becomes a focus and a necessity, I think there'll be a stronger emphasis on the "fringe" things that are often taken for granted.