| Cascading style sheets were formally introduced by | | | | However, many freelance web designers have found |
| the W3C in 1997 and in the nine years since have | | | | that their clients are unwilling to accept the additional |
| made gradual progress to becoming a web standard. | | | | cost and time to create a completely CSS-based |
| Although the W3C mandates style sheets instead of | | | | design. This attitude is beginning to change at the |
| HTML formatting for internal styles, many web | | | | corporate level, however, as more and more sites |
| designers have been slow to adopt CSS. | | | | are redesigned using pure CSS. |
| Graphic designers, especially, have been slow to | | | | The continuing acceptance of CSS as a web |
| accept CSS since it does not allow the complex | | | | standard has also been hampered by the popularity |
| designs made possible by the use of nested tables | | | | of Macromedia Flash as a design tool. Completely |
| without concentrated testing and workarounds. That | | | | vector-based and imported into a web page by the |
| is because CSS is not universally cross-browser | | | | use of a plug-in, Flash offers enormous flexibility in |
| compatible. The first release of CSS in 1997 was | | | | creating complex navigation systems, a historically |
| notorious for breaking on a variety of browsers. The | | | | weak point of CSS. Flash also allows a higher level of |
| second, and current, release provides more stability | | | | artistic expression than the more limited CSS, which is |
| but still causes unexpected results on older browsers. | | | | primarily designed to deliver information. This has |
| In light of the cross-browser difficulties of CSS. many | | | | created a divide in the web design community to the |
| designers have adopted a hybrid standard, using CSS | | | | point where there are basically two camps of web |
| for styling text but continuing to use nested tables | | | | designers, those who use Flash and those who don't. |
| to structure their pages. This provides a measure of | | | | The debate over the merits of CSS versus Flash has |
| stability and control to a web designer who does not | | | | been known to get quite heated on occasion. |
| have the time or inclination to learn advanced CSS. | | | | Many have predicted that the third release of CSS |
| However, this practice is severely frowned on by | | | | will solve many of the problems hampering |
| both the W3C and by a small but influential group of | | | | widespread acceptance of CSS as a web standard. |
| CSS designers who claim that the use of nested | | | | However, the third release has been in development |
| tables slows down page loading and that CSS can, | | | | since 1998 and is not expected to be completed |
| with proper application, create complex designs just | | | | anytime soon. |
| as well as nested tables. | | | | |