Christian Montoya: > What we call a 1998 design is 2 or 3 columns, equal height, every > column a different color. The key is the columns being different > colors. It was very typical in 1998, and looks retro now. Many > of us are just tired of seeing it.
Not sure of your point, though the implication is still table based designs are usually multi-colored columns in which case I disagree. Plain old column layouts different colored or not are a dime a dozen in CSS too. But yes, if we're doing them let's do them in CSS. (Side note: IMO the columns being different colors is a non-essential differentiator for something as complex as design styles.) > This may be true, but there is one big difference between an ugly table > based site and an ugly pure css site: the ugly css site is bad for one > reason, while the ugly table based site is bad for two. I would rather > have an ugly pure css site than an ugly table one. :) Me too, if I have to, but I was shooting for non-ugly. > As it happens I've only built 1 table based site this year and I have > no shame and no regrets, the site brings in millions of dollars a > year. > Maybe, but a site's success is hardly ever due to it's appearance. > What it offers to users, and how usable it is, is far more important > than the pretty headers. That's a superficial view of design, good design is about a lot more than a "pretty header". It's about contrast, unity, logical structure, establishing the proper visual hierarchy, and all the other principles of design. Those have a huge impact on the usability of a site. In other words, I don't accept the appearance-usability dichotomy, they're deeply intertwined and good design enhances both. I really don't want to spend my time defending table based designs, they should be avoided as far as possible. And, as I said, the occasions when I've had to use them are *very* infrequent and of course it's done reluctantly, but given that time and resources are not infinite it can be a necessity and I accept that. Yes CSS rules! There, I said it, now leave me alone. Regards, Nigel ****************************************************** The discussion list for http://webstandardsgroup.org/ See http://webstandardsgroup.org/mail/guidelines.cfm for some hints on posting to the list & getting help ******************************************************
