| Why do we (web developers) use tables??? Yes | | | | method are proven. |
| they make for fantastic designs and organized | | | | 1. Search Engines: I have redesigned many websites |
| websites but they are not for this purpose. A table | | | | eliminating tables and placing all links in unordered lists |
| should be used for TABULAR DATA not design and | | | | and have seen there search engine rankings improve |
| layout. That being said, I have sworn off tables and | | | | drastically. |
| replaced them with the almighty div tag and CSS. | | | | 2. Compatibility: Remember that in today's day and |
| In the good old days you had no option but to use | | | | age websites are being viewed on everything from |
| tables if you wanted to give an impressive | | | | 60 inch plasma TV's to 3 inch cell phone screens. If |
| presentation on your website. Along came CSS a | | | | you assign a table a width of 780 it becomes near |
| designer's best friend. There is no web layout that | | | | impossible for visitor using a handheld device to view |
| you can create with a table that can not be | | | | your website. |
| duplicated with CSS. | | | | 3. Accessibility: People with disabilities have the right |
| "But using CSS to design my website is too | | | | to enjoy the web! If your website uses tables a |
| complicated" I have heard this to many times in the | | | | visitor using an audio browser is going to have trouble |
| span of my career. You can learn how to properly | | | | accessing your website. Go ahead and try to use |
| use CSS in less time than it took you to figure out | | | | your website with and audio browser... |
| how to nest a table inside of table, inside of table... In | | | | I hope this article gets you started on your way to |
| future articles I will explain how to properly use CSS, | | | | becoming a Web Standards Developer. There are a |
| for now we will stick with why you should use CSS. | | | | million reasons to "Do it the right way" and these |
| Content and Design should always be separated. We | | | | were just a few, for more information visit the |
| have all heard this a million times but why do we not | | | | w3.org. |
| listen. The benefits to building a website following this | | | | |