About a year ago, I redesigned most of my Web site (http://www.knechtology.com) to use valid transitional XHTML (validated at http://validator.w3/org). At the time, I still used tables to control the layout and only put a minimal reliance on Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) to control the overall look of the site. But that has all changed.
In May, after spending considerable time reviewing design options with my graphic designer, the majority of my site was switched to pure XHTML. There’s not a table to be found in the primary site. All content is controlled by using a div and a class defined in the CSS. Virtually every element’s position on the page is controlled by the CSS. The use of spacer images has virtually vanished and, within a few months, I’m hoping that all spacer images will be gone as well.
So what’s the benefit? And should you care? First, no, you shouldn’t care about how I designed my site — it’s my site after all. But you should care about the benefits this type of design has to offer and the big deal it could mean to your organization.
The benefits are clear: