W3C I18N Techniques: Setting up a server

Choose UTF-8 or another Unicode encoding for all content.

If you don't use a Unicode encoding, select an encoding that best supports the languages / characters to be included in the page text.

Check that user agents (all agents that must render the page) adequately support the page encoding that you have selected. If not, you might need to use a more widely supported encoding to achieve an adequate degree of user agent support.

Use character sets and encodings that will be accessible and common to your users.

Choosing a page encoding

W3C best practises document (Characters and Encodings).

Choosing an encoding

In W3C tutorial, Character sets & encodings in XHTML, HTML and CSS.

Setting the HTTP charset parameter

Notes on the charset HTTP header, server setup, and how to generate headers using scripts. W3C article.

Declaring the document encoding

In W3C tutorial, Character sets & encodings in XHTML, HTML and CSS.

Serving XHTML 1.0

The influence of standards- vs. quirks-mode on character encoding declarations. W3C article.

Setting charset information in .htaccess

How do I use .htaccess directives on an Apache server to serve files with a specific encoding? W3C FAQ-based article.