| When looking to optimize your website, one of the | | | | group rules together to save additional space and |
| very first things you should do is take a look at your | | | | name cases whatever you wish. |
| source code. Is it long and unclear? Hard to read and | | | | 5. There is nothing you can do in HTML that you |
| find what you're looking for? If so, then you probably | | | | can't do with CSS. In fact, CSS gives you even more |
| aren't using a Cascading Style Sheet, or CSS, as it's | | | | customized control than any other method. Cascading |
| more commonly referred to. | | | | Style Sheets go far beyond HTML control, allowing |
| A Cascading Style Sheet is a method used to give | | | | you to assign background colors or images to any |
| web designers more control over the style of each | | | | HTML element rather than just the body. It also |
| page- allowing them to customize each paragraph, | | | | allows you to add borders to any element you |
| title, header, or bulleted list. CSS gives you the ability | | | | choose. |
| to specify font, size, and color of anything you want | | | | 6. One of the most instantly rewarding benefits of |
| without having to repeatedly insert specific lines of | | | | Cascading Style Sheets is that they are a huge time |
| code. | | | | saver. Code it once and never again! Let's say for |
| Using Cascading Style Sheets is crucial to your | | | | example, your site is coded with HTML; the header |
| website's optimization. Here are a few reasons why: | | | | on each one of your sites pages is written in blue |
| 1. Using regular HTML codes to define things like font | | | | text. One day you decide you want to change the |
| tags can be very cumbersome. It inserts extra | | | | look and feel of your site and you want to change |
| unnecessary code into the source code of your | | | | the headers from blue font to a bold black. With |
| website-therefore diluting your keyword density to | | | | HTML, you will have to go to each page and |
| search engines. Search engine spiders won't just read | | | | physically change each header. Depending on the size |
| the content that shows up on your site, they read | | | | of your site, that could be very time consuming. If |
| every single line of code. You don't want to pollute | | | | you had used CSS, then you would simply open that |
| your source code with excessive HTML. | | | | external file, change the header tag color from blue |
| 2. CSS gets the same result as the basic HTML | | | | to black and you're done! That one change will |
| you're used to- only it does it better! Instead of | | | | automatically update every header without you |
| placing the style tags in the actual code, it is placed in | | | | having to manually change each one. |
| an external file. A simple and brief statement is | | | | The benefits of CSS are simply too much to ignore. |
| placed in the source code to call to that external file | | | | Simply put...Cascading style sheets will help your |
| where all your bulky style codes are laid out. This | | | | website be more efficient and rank better with |
| leaves your page clean and simple. | | | | search engines. To a search engine, a website that is |
| 3. The use of Cascading Style Sheets will also allow | | | | coded in CSS says several things about your |
| browsers to read and load your webpage very | | | | company: you embrace foward technology and that |
| rapidly. This is good for search engines- spiders want | | | | your content is modern, up-to-date and relevant. |
| to read through your website as fast as they | | | | Using CSS is THE MOST SEARCH ENGINE FRIENDLY |
| possibly can. With CSS, you can have all the effects | | | | way to create a web site TODAY! It is like candy to |
| you want without slowing down the search engine | | | | Search Engine Spiders. It will ensure that the spiders |
| spiders you are striving to impress. | | | | come back to your website more than your |
| 4. Converting old HTML layouts to CSS can typically | | | | competitors that still use tables. If everything was |
| cut anywhere from 25 to 50 percent off file sizes. | | | | the same between two websites, except one used |
| They give you the added benefit of simplified, | | | | a table based layout and the other used CSS layout, |
| adaptable structure and the separation of code in a | | | | the CSS web site will always rank higher in the |
| presentation. CSS gives you total freedom- you can | | | | Search Engines. |