Using Tables vs. CSS Question

onthis · 11-07-2007, 03:18 PM

Beginner to web page building. As I learn I read you can use html tables for page layout, as well as, CSS and I am wondering what are the Pros and Cons. I understand that html tables was originally used for data columns. Also what is the current HTML ver?
Thanks

shockie · 11-07-2007, 09:15 PM

i think that html is at 4.01, although xhtml is the way to go now in conjunction with css. the main advantages i see of css over html are: faster loading; faster modifying/creating/fixing and; better search engine rankings.

why tables for layout is stupid: http://www.hotdesign.com/seybold/

sOliver · 11-24-2007, 06:10 AM

Originally Posted by onthis

Beginner to web page building. As I learn I read you can use html tables for page layout, as well as, CSS and I am wondering what are the Pros and Cons. I understand that html tables was originally used for data columns. Also what is the current HTML ver?
Thanks

a html layout is relative to the seize of your browser but in css it can have a fixed size ( you can center it with the command <div align=center></div> btw;
put that around your main site and it will always be in the middle of your browser window )

css = cascading, means you can define a style in 3 ways
1. in an external file e.g. stylesheet.css
2. in the head of your html page
3. in addition to a html tag <p style="width:200px"></p>

onthis · 11-26-2007, 12:17 AM

Thanks for the links and info. I am trying to learn some basic CSS. I seem to prefer the external style as it appears most flexible for creating multiple sites, using at least some of the same style sheets and it does make sense.
Got side tracked and stuck setting up a personal slackware web/file server. lol Everything I try to do is such a huge learning project!

smub · 12-02-2007, 05:26 PM

technically no differnece but css is just easier to modify ... tables make a big mess

both can be made seo friendly so neither have an edge over the other. Css does tend to load a bit faster than tables.

sdsinc · 12-03-2007, 04:37 AM

Some interesting links:
http://www.gtalbot.org/NvuSection/Nv...CSSDesign.html
http://www.alistapart.com/stories/journey/

cancer10 · 12-04-2007, 09:52 AM

People who says that a tabular css layout is much lesser code or is less in size (kb) - Can they prove that a 500 row HTML table consumes more disk space then a 500 row css tabular layout?

sdsinc · 12-04-2007, 09:58 AM

Originally Posted by cancer10

People who says that a tabular css layout is much lesser code or is less in size (kb) - Can they prove that a 500 row HTML table consumes more disk space then a 500 row css tabular layout?

You can just use <br /> tags for rows.
????: NamePros.com http://www.namepros.com/webmaster-tutorials/393313-using-tables-vs-css-question.html
Another thing to consider: a pure CSS layout loads faster than a table structure, it takes more time to parse and render tables on the screen and nested tables do not help

11-07-2007, 03:18 PM	THREAD STARTER #1 (permalink)
onthis New Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 11	Using Tables vs. CSS Question Beginner to web page building. As I learn I read you can use html tables for page layout, as well as, CSS and I am wondering what are the Pros and Cons. I understand that html tables was originally used for data columns. Also what is the current HTML ver? Thanks

11-07-2007, 09:15 PM	#2 (permalink)
shockie Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 4,702	i think that html is at 4.01, although xhtml is the way to go now in conjunction with css. the main advantages i see of css over html are: faster loading; faster modifying/creating/fixing and; better search engine rankings. why tables for layout is stupid: http://www.hotdesign.com/seybold/ __________________ - shockie

11-26-2007, 12:17 AM	THREAD STARTER #4 (permalink)
onthis New Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 11	Coming along slowly Thanks for the links and info. I am trying to learn some basic CSS. I seem to prefer the external style as it appears most flexible for creating multiple sites, using at least some of the same style sheets and it does make sense. Got side tracked and stuck setting up a personal slackware web/file server. lol Everything I try to do is such a huge learning project!

12-02-2007, 05:26 PM	#5 (permalink)
smub Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: balkhis.com Posts: 3,158	technically no differnece but css is just easier to modify ... tables make a big mess both can be made seo friendly so neither have an edge over the other. Css does tend to load a bit faster than tables. __________________ Balkhis - Helpful tips regarding marketing, SEO, Web Design and SEO. Uzzz Productions - Custom Web Designs \| WordPress Beginners Guide

12-03-2007, 04:37 AM	#6 (permalink)
sdsinc Domains my Dominion Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Web 1.0 Posts: 9,557	Some interesting links: http://www.gtalbot.org/NvuSection/Nv...CSSDesign.html http://www.alistapart.com/stories/journey/ __________________ NameNewsletter.com - free lists of available domain names ZoneFiles.net (beta) - ccTLD and gTLD droplists

12-04-2007, 09:52 AM	#7 (permalink)
cancer10 Account Closed Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: India Posts: 342	People who says that a tabular css layout is much lesser code or is less in size (kb) - Can they prove that a 500 row HTML table consumes more disk space then a 500 row css tabular layout?

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Using Tables vs. CSS Question

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