| Let us first understand what CSS exactly is. CSS or | | | | formatted using CSS rules. This removes the vast |
| Cascading Style Sheets is a stylesheet language that | | | | majority of presentational markup and leaves you |
| is used to describe the presentation of documents | | | | with nicely formatted content that the search |
| written in any markup language. CSS is the word to | | | | engines can easily find and index. |
| go by in today’s age in the world of website | | | | Web Design Technique 2 - Us CSS to Style Your |
| designing. It not only defines the presentation of | | | | Header Tags |
| documents but also styles the web pages so that it. | | | | We also know that search engines place a huge |
| CSS can be applied to website designing process to | | | | amount of importance on the header tags - h1,h2,h3 |
| maximize the efficiency and effectiveness. By | | | | e.t.c. that they find in your pages. The thing that puts |
| incorporating CSS into the website design will make | | | | most inexperienced web designers off using header |
| the website perform better in the search engines | | | | tags is that by default modern browsers render them |
| game in addition to scoring well on accessibility, | | | | in massive black text that looks really ugly. This is |
| usability and prettiness quotient. | | | | where CSS comes in. CSS can be used to easily |
| Let us first understand what CSS exactly is. CSS or | | | | make your header tags appear in nicely formatted, |
| Cascading Style Sheets is a stylesheet language that | | | | attractive text that both scores well with search |
| is used to describe the presentation of documents | | | | engines and is pleasing to the eye of the user - |
| written in any markup language. It actually separates | | | | perfect! |
| the presentation code from the actual content of the | | | | Web Design Technique 3 - Us CSS to Create |
| website design. For web pages written in HTML or | | | | Rollover Images |
| XHTML, it’s the best and what’s | | | | Traditionally rollover images are created using 2 |
| better is that it can be applied to just any kind of | | | | graphics for the on and off states that are toggled |
| XML document be it SVG or XUL. | | | | on and off using some complex JavaScript code. This |
| A set of CSS style rules are built up and stored in a | | | | JavaScript code can bloat your web pages and since |
| file with .css extension. This file is then linked from | | | | it is not content and just appears as gibberish to |
| the web pages using a HTML link tag. | | | | search engines it can adversely affect your rankings |
| There are several benefits you stand to gain. Here | | | | to have lots of embedded JavaScript in your web |
| are 3 possible ways to go about it. | | | | pages. A much better way to accomplish the same |
| Use CSS to Structure Your Document | | | | web design effect is to use CSS. Your still need your |
| Every website aims to make it to the top of search | | | | 2 graphics but you actually create a normal text link |
| engines. Likewise the search engines send their | | | | in your (that can also have keyword targeted anchor |
| robots to various websites to get fresh and relevant | | | | text) and use CSS to format its appearance. This is |
| content. Websites vie for the same thing and that is | | | | as simple as making the link a block level element in |
| website popularity. | | | | your HTML, setting it a height and width and then |
| Let's consider the facts that we know about search | | | | defining it 2 different background images, 1 for when |
| engines. They send their search engine robots to | | | | the link is in its 'off state' and when for when the |
| your site to read the content that you have there | | | | user is hovering over the link. |
| and the easier it is to find for them the better | | | | Conclusion |
| because they don't waste much time looking. So | | | | Cascading style sheets are a very powerful way of |
| having said this, what is the point of bogging down | | | | separating presentation code from your actual |
| your pages with lots of un-necessary presentation | | | | content and the search engine optimisation benefits |
| markup that could quite easily be stored off in a | | | | the CSS will bring to your web design are undeniable. |
| separate CSS file. Most often this means removed | | | | Why not put these CSS web design techniques to |
| any extraneous table tags and replacing them with a | | | | work on your website today? |
| smaller number of HTML div tags which can be | | | | |