I have just implemented a few social media avenues into my latest portfolio website, but I cannot see how I am supposed to get valid XHTML code via the W3C validator, when I have the Google+ proprietary code embedded with the core XHTML code.
You will notice on the index/homepage that the Google+ button is different in shape/size to any other page on my site, and this is because I though I would try and remove the attribute size=“tall” from within the proprietary code, all this does is actually remove 1 less error, so the index page has 1 error yet the contact page has 2 errors.
I you want a fully validated page, you have to ditch all that proprietary horror. Mind you, ask yourself what the point of validation is. That code is well tested and not likely to break anything. Validation is just a way of checking for potential issues. If the page isn’t going to break, no one cares about validation ‘errors’ and warnings. they are just a guide. If you are after bragging rights, well, honestly, no one else cares, so forget about it! All you really need is to be confident that the page won’t break with that code in it, and it won’t.
Google do provide a version of their +1 script that works entirely from JavaScript so that you don’t have to install any proprietary garbage into your HTML.