ugly tables., tables are ugly. Options

[Maccabee]

This is just me personally but If I ever go to a site that is just like a table with like nav on the left and content on the right I just leave.

Tables are just so unproffesional and ugly.

I only ever use them to like hold or postiion content in a div section.

I only use div sections.

Who agrees that tables are gross.

Also it seems like they are kind of behind with like other w3 guidlines.

There just weird.

[venti-anemoi]

Could you give an example of what it is you dislike? I'm not exactly clear on what you mean.

I actually like tables. I think they're clean and simple, and they make things go wherever you want them to. They have limits, but in general I can make them work for me.

I hate using divs because of the alignment issues you get between different browsers; I don't know if it's only in Xanga you get this issue (that's where my hatred spawned), but it's frickin' annoying. The "_margin-left: ###px;" doesn't seem to work in Xanga either. I discovered tables several years after I started using divs (I know, kinda backwards), and have barely touched divs since.

[Maccabee]

Could you give an example of what it is you dislike? I'm not exactly clear on what you mean.

I actually like tables. I think they're clean and simple, and they make things go wherever you want them to. They have limits, but in general I can make them work for me.

I hate using divs because of the alignment issues you get between different browsers; I don't know if it's only in Xanga you get this issue (that's where my hatred spawned), but it's frickin' annoying. The "_margin-left: ###px;" doesn't seem to work in Xanga either. I discovered tables several years after I started using divs (I know, kinda backwards), and have barely touched divs since.

For me div's are way better! Cause I can connect my stylesheets to div sections but not tables. And they always change shape and stuff.

And that is kinda backwards cause usually the first thing learnt is tables like at w3schools.com.

[roxxtar]

For me div's are way better! Cause I can connect my stylesheets to div sections but not tables. And they always change shape and stuff.

And that is kinda backwards cause usually the first thing learnt is tables like at w3schools.com.

Eh, sounds to me that you're a victim of the "div" trend without realizing WHY tables are wrong. I guess it's not a bad trend, since in the end you're practicing good web design, but you should probably research why divs are better before you go preaching that they are.

[aaayotiffany]

personally, i love some div layouts. i like tables, because they are simple and cute. there are times when tables are necessary, sometimes they're not. it depends on the style and design of the layout/banner.

[fixtatik]

tables are perfectly fine for building a website. you can easily format them with a style sheet, exactly the way you would using divs. you can remove & add borders, padding, margins whatever you need.

tables are simply an easier way to align a layout. they're far better if you have a need for complex nested content.

for example:

click to enlarge

it's going to be a tad more difficult (and take far longer) for a web designer to replicate a table like that using divs. because it's harder, inexperienced designers will result in malformed code that doesn't display properly in all browsers.

sure, you can always use the float:; attribute, but browsers render widths of divs differently, meaning that if the width isn't absolutely perfect, then a div that is meant to be next to another will most likely drift to the line below it. even with perfection in widths, it's still difficult to get the correct padding, as some browsers will stretch the div according to the padding.

tables are the most cross-browser compatible format for building a website, and definitely the easiest. it's just with the transition to web 2.0 that standards are calling more for divs compared to tables.

[Maccabee]

tables are perfectly fine for building a website. you can easily format them with a style sheet, exactly the way you would using divs. you can remove & add borders, padding, margins whatever you need.

tables are simply an easier way to align a layout. they're far better if you have a need for complex nested content.

for example:
http://i29.tinypic.com/312v5nc.png
it's going to be a tad more difficult (and take far longer) for a web designer to replicate a table like that using divs. because it's harder, inexperienced designers will result in malformed code that doesn't display properly in all browsers.

sure, you can always use the float:; attribute, but browsers render widths of divs differently, meaning that if the width isn't absolutely perfect, then a div that is meant to be next to another will most likely drift to the line below it. even with perfection in widths, it's still difficult to get the correct padding, as some browsers will stretch the div according to the padding.

tables are the most cross-browser compatible format for building a website, and definitely the easiest. it's just with the transition to web 2.0 that standards are calling more for divs compared to tables.

You can use a stylesheet with tables?!

How?!

That was my one problem I had with them.

Can you give table and cells id and class's?

[heyo-captain-jac...]

I don't like tables all that much. They're too complex for what they do.
Divs are much easier, and in my experience they're more versatile.

[venti-anemoi]

You can assign tables id's and classes like any other thing. I'm not sure about individual rows and cells (I haven't tried it), but I don't see why you couldn't.

I don't think tables are complex at all, although I have to agree that divs are much simpler. My problem is that divs come with all sorts of problems. For example, padding; in one browser the padding is included in the width, and in another browser it's added on to the width specified. It's like, *headdesk*

Normally I use a combination of divs and tables. I'll use tables to structure the layout, then use divs within the table cells for modules and such. :] My coding is kind of self-taught, so it can be kind of messy sometimes.

[emberfly]

I love tables. dey be coo. And you can add awesome effects to 'em ^^

[queen]

too lazy to write an essay explaining my love for tables.

as far as aesthetics, most "professional" looking div layouts nowadays are modelled/derived after the old school typical 3-column table look anyway.

[Melissa]

i use tables a ton since it's super easy to position things and keep things neat with them. Tables aren't always just used in your every-day conventional column layout. My layout right now (in sig) is not exactly the nav on left, content on right layout, but there are tables everywhere.

[fixtatik]

You can use a stylesheet with tables?!

How?!

That was my one problem I had with them.

Can you give table and cells id and class's?

you can assign any HTML tag an ID or class, whether it be divs, tables / rows / cells, scripts, objects, fonts...absolutely anything. CSS is a pretty powerful tool.

it's how i design my myspace div layouts - i use the predetermined myspace table classes to hide everything.

[rockable]

Tables are ok if done right I think. :)