Are tableless websites worth it?
I’m a huge supporter of websites created with a tableless layout…. but I didn’t always feel this way. Every website designer has certain methods they follow when creating their website. These methods can put a web designer in a comfort zone that can be a huge limitation to their growth. So, are tableless websites really worth the hassle? Lets examine some of the main components.
What does it mean to create a tableless website?
The HTML that makes up the structure of a website can be coded in 2 ways: (1) Tables and (2) Divs.
Tables were the most common way to create a website because they were quick to setup and were not hard to learn. Most web designers were familiar with tables because other programs utilized them. Tables included both structure and styling (text, imagery, dimensions, etc.)
Divs are easily known as an empty container where information can be placed. Divs include only the structure of the website (content) and rely on an attached stylesheet to apply the styling to that content. This method separates structure from styling.
A tableless website replaces tables with Divs.
So, why not just stick with Tables since more web designers are familiar with them?
Well, this is what I originally thought in 2005. I was very comfortable creating websites using tables. I had a game plan each time I started creating a website. I increased my build-out speed with each new website I created.
The problem didn’t seem obvious until website updates and redesigning started happening. Since a website based on tables had the structure and styling mixed together, it took more time to update them both since they were intertwined.
A tableless design allows you to focus on either the structure or the styling, but not both together.
Are you a believer yet?
This information obviously won’t mean a whole lot unless you’ve developed a decent number of websites for clients. I’ve created over 200 client websites based on tables and over 150 built with divs and CSS and I will never go back to table designs.
Here are a few overall things to remember:
The Bad
- Tables generate more HTML code which requires more upkeep
- Tables mix structure with styling which will generally take longer to make basic updates as well as implementing a new design
The Good
- Tableless design separates structure from styling which gives you more flexibility
- Tableless designs are the latest trend which means you are up to speed with the latest technologies
- Tableless designs require less code which will help search engines crawl you content easie
In Summary
I speak from experience when I say that you should invest the time to learn how to create a website without tables. There are many sites that provide detailed tutorials on how to do this - just Google it!
Feel free to contact me if you need more information.
