WebAIM - Web Accessibility In Mind

E-mail List Archives

Re: tables vs. layers

for

From: Chris Price
Date: Dec 1, 2004 6:00PM

On 1/12/04 8:20 pm, "karen.looney" wrote:

> Can anyone tell me the pro's and con's to using tables / layers for designing
> the layout of a website?

I think tables vs css is not so much a case of pros and cons as alternative
approaches to web design.

I have now abandoned tables as layout devices but there was a point where
tables seemed to be a necessary evil in order to make the designs work
across all browsers. I think if I'd compromised I would have missed an
opportunity to develop my css skills.

I find that designing around the information is far more creative than
fitting the information to the design (which tends to be the way of table
based design) and though tables are not necessarily inaccessible, css based
design is inherently more likely to be accessible.

Table vs css is really just one aspect of the style/markup issue.

--
Chris Price
Choctaw.co.uk