HTML Utopia: Designing Without Tables Using CSS. Chapter 1: Getting the Lay of the Land | 2

JavaScript & HTML Utopia

Chapter 1: Getting the Lay of the Land

Almost as soon as the Web became popularized by the emergence of the first graphical Web browser (the forerunner to Netscape Navigator), graphic designers became aware of a problem. The method by which the Web browser displayed information stored in HTML files was not within the designer's control.

 From their perspective, this constituted a fundamental flaw. "Users don't know anything about good design", they argued. If the designers couldn't control with great accuracy things like colors, fonts, and the precise, pixel-level positioning of every design element on the Web page, their creations could easily end up as ugly travesties in the user's browser.

Excerpt Contents

CSS in Context The Basic Purpose of CSS Why Most—But Not All—Tables Are Bad Tables Mean Long Load Times Use of Transparent Images Slows Us Down Maintaining Tables is a Nightmare When it's OK to Use a Table What is CSS, Really? Parts of a CSS Rule Types of CSS Rules What Properties Can CSS Rules Affect? What Elements Can CSS Affect? Where Can CSS Styles Be Defined? Why Bother? Summary

Created: March 27, 2003
Revised: May 6, 2003

URL: https://webreference.com/programming/css_utopia/chap1