Tables Or CSS

jmcc

I've been thinking of upgrading the html on one of my websites. The capabilities of CSS seems to be good enough to replace HTML tables for layout. Since I don't yet know enough about CSS, is it better to use a hybrid tables/css solution or move completely to using a CSS based solution? And what is the downside of a purely CSS based layout?

Regards...jmcc

Ph3n0m

the problem is you are going to get good arguements for both - pure css/div solution or hybrid of css/tables/etc


Personally I got the hybrid - for me its the absolute only way to ensure cross browser and cross platform usability*


This has nowt to do with SEO or findability - we are talking about a purely usable website

jjmax

check here, for some nice free css templates that will give you basic layout
http://www.ssi-developer.net/

grahamor

do it all with css,

if you have data or information use a table. People seem to think you cant use tables at all with this accessibility frenzy happening. You can still use tables for showing data but use css for everything else

ButtermilkJack

grahamor wrote:

do it all with css,

if you have data or information use a table. People seem to think you cant use tables at all with this accessibility frenzy happening. You can still use tables for showing data but use css for everything else

Exactly! Use tables for tabular data, if you have some. CSS for layout/design. Easy !

jmcc

jjmax wrote:

check here, for some nice free css templates that will give you basic layout
http://www.ssi-developer.net/

Very nice site - some good ideas.

Regards...jmcc

jmcc

grahamor wrote:

do it all with css,

if you have data or information use a table. People seem to think you cant use tables at all with this accessibility frenzy happening. You can still use tables for showing data but use css for everything else

So the hybrid solution is still the best option? I've done a test with the table data in CSS to emulate a spreadsheet and also using tables to do the same data. While the pure CSS version looks nicer, the tables based version (with CSS) looks far more capable of being automated. The number of spreadsheet type pages will be around 3500.

Basically the data will be the 2005 (and perhaps a historical view back to 2000) data on each hoster in .ie/com/net/org/biz/info over twelve months so a spreadsheet model is the best way to do it.

Regards...jmcc

democrates

I bought the pure css message but when I tried it boy was I frustrated.
Layouts that were a snap with tables required ages of tweaking div sizes, only to see it break again when the volume of content in divs changed and/or windows were resized in different browsers. That was time away from real code.

Blamed Microsoft of course and roll on IE7 for better standards compliance, but I have to wonder if the W3C really got it right, what would be wrong with display mode=table so such divs emulate basic table containment behaviour whilst keeping the accessibility and other gains intact. And does anyone know of a good practical use for layers besides pop-up ads anyway? /rant

I've been resigned to going back to a single layout table for site templates but I'll give the ssi-developer templates a go, if it all works, happy days!

jjmax

I've used the basic ssi-developer templates on a few sites now and with a bit of tweaking you can get great results.
Using relative measurements for fonts has worked but I've had to use fixed measurements for the divs, and that's yielded good results with the page layout remaining constant across browsers and resolutions.
This book is very helpful - Stylin with CSS by Charles Wyke-Smith

democrates

jjmax wrote:

I've used the basic ssi-developer templates on a few sites now and with a bit of tweaking you can get great results.
Using relative measurements for fonts has worked but I've had to use fixed measurements for the divs, and that's yielded good results with the page layout remaining constant across browsers and resolutions.
This book is very helpful - Stylin with CSS by Charles Wyke-Smith

Nice one! I'll get that asap, I've always found the general books with a chapter on css lacking, can't beat the in-depth jobbies.

jjmax

yeah, it's a great resource, and very well put together