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Tables used to be the "in" thing when
it came to designing web sites. As with many other
things though, new techniques and methods standards
are bound to emerge with time. When once tables
were seen in most web pages, some experts now
suggest that tables should be thrown out of the
window.
In simple words, tableless web design is basically
a method whereby page layout control is achieved
without the use of HTML tables. Instead, text
and other elements on a page are arranged using
CSS (Cascading Style Sheets). This language is
the brainchild of the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium).
It was designed in such a way as to improve web
accessibility as well as to make use of HTML for
semantic purposes rather than presentational purposes.
One thing that has been making the headlines
in the past year or so is the term SEO (Search
Engine Optimization) techniques. With search engines
such as Google and Yahoo making big waves in the
information sector, web designers are scrambling
to get on their good side. The one main goal of
a web designer is to get his site on the top pages
for search results. How is this achieved? By making
one's site search engine friendly.
Search engines make use of various techniques
to index all existing web sites. Based on these
various techniques, they assign a page rank to
the web site. The higher the page rank, the more
chances it will be high up in the search engine
results. The higher up the site is in ranking,
the more chances that people will visit the site.
That means good news for the web site. That is
where semantics and HTML come in.
So how about tables? Web designers who favor
tables assert that they make the design process
easier and less time consuming. More so, they
assert that tables are more compatible with various
web browsers. On the other hand, proponents of
tableless formats assert that tables do not adhere
to web standards and web accessibility.
Over the years, people have been trying to come
up with web standards that are based on logic
and that would make it easier for everyone involved
to access web sites. Text readers, bots, mobile
devices, and other elements were all taken into
consideration. As such, the tableless format has
come into popular use.
Why should you follow this standard? Here are
a few reasons as to why you should go tableless:
. The current W3C standards dictate the use of
tableless design.
. Practically all browsers in use today support
CSS for controlling layouts. As such, your site
will be compatible with most any browser.
. It is easier to make global changes to the layout
with the use of CSS. That is, if the coding is
properly done, of course.
. Web site accessibility for people with special
needs is done more easily with the proper implementation
of content into XHTML documents. In this case,
CSS is used only for the layout and style.
. Unnecessary code is eliminated with the use
of XHTML and CSS, making for a sleeker and more
manageable code.
. Tableless formats make it easier for search
engines to index a web site.
Though tableless formats are being widely used
for page layout control, it does not necessarily
mean that tables are not being used anymore. They
are merely not optimal for presentation purposes.
About the author:
http://www.PSDxHTML.COM
is an entity which offers conversion from PSD
or PNG design to HTML / XHTM / CSS. Their end
results are of excellent quality while their fees
are reasonable. They specialize in making tableless
CSS layouts, SEO semantic markup, and cross browser
compatibility. As a secondary service, they also
offer the redesigning or recoding of web sites
to the CSS layouts.http://www.PSDxHTML.COM is
an entity which offers conversion from PSD or
PNG design to HTML / XHTM / CSS. Their end results
are of excellent quality while their fees are
reasonable. They specialize in making tableless
CSS layouts, SEO semantic markup, and cross browser
compatibility. As a secondary service, they also
offer the redesigning or recoding of web sites
to the CSS layouts.
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