Why CSS?
Posted: 04/15/2008CSS is an extremely powerful tool which, in my humble opinion, any web designer should include in their arsenal.
Before CSS, web designers were stuck with using tables for layout purposes. The problem with tables was that it required "clunky" code, content wouldn't display until table was fully rendered, bandwidth hog... should I continue?
CSS has open the door to many new possibilities and truly does allow a web designer to unleash their creativity. A few benefits of CSS are:
- Maintenance - In most cases, all you have to do is update one CSS file and the update will occur globally through the website.
- Accessibility - According to the W3C, "CSS benefits accessibility primarily by separating document structure from presentation. Style sheets were designed to allow precise control - outside of markup - of character spacing, text alignment, object position on the page, audio and speech output, font characteristics, etc. By separating style from markup, authors can simplify and clean up the HTML in their documents, making the documents more accessible at the same time."
- Bandwidth Reduction - Because most browsers parse through tables twice, this increases bandwidth causing the site to render slowly. CSS allows web designers to control what loads first so the end user does not have to wait.
- Creative - Just go to CSSMania.com. Thousands of great examples of CSS websites.
CSS brings a lot to the table (pun intended). For more information about CSS, check out A-List Apart.
