| Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) are used within the | | | | through the CSS file, it makes your textual content |
| HTML behind your Web site as a way of controlling | | | | much more prominent within your HTML. This means |
| how each page is laid out and what elements on it | | | | the search engine spiders can easily find your textual |
| look like. For instance, you can use CSS to make | | | | content, and that your content is generally displayed in |
| headings in your copy a standard size across the | | | | one block, rather than being split up into less readable |
| whole of your site. | | | | chunks by HTML just to fit it in to your design. |
| CSS has been around for several years and is | | | | Using 'semantically correct XHTML' - ie heading tags |
| supported by all the major browsers available today, | | | | around the headings and sub-headings in your copy, |
| including Internet Explorer for the PC and Mac, Firefox, | | | | and bold or strong tags around content you wish to |
| Safari and Opera. | | | | highlight - tells the search engines those words are the |
| Using CSS to control your Web site will give you | | | | most important on the page. This helps give the page |
| several benefits: | | | | a boost for searches which match the words which |
| Makes your Web pages snappier | | | | are marked as more important in this way. |
| By using CSS and writing your HTML code to match | | | | Helps in passing the Disability Discrimination Act |
| standards like 'XHTML Transitional' or 'XHTML Strict' | | | | Using good CSS and XHTML makes it easy for |
| you can decrease the 'render time' of your pages. This | | | | people with disabilities to change your pages the way |
| is the time it takes between downloading the page and | | | | they may need to for easy reading. This may be |
| actually showing it on screen to your Web site visitor. | | | | through increasing or decreasing the font size, or |
| When using tables for layout - the traditional alternative | | | | having it read to them through a screen reader. The |
| to using CSS - and 'font' tags to control how the text | | | | clean page coding that goes along with using CSS |
| on the page looks, the browsers have a lot more | | | | means screen readers can easily navigate through |
| work to do before they show the page. Using CSS | | | | your page and find the content, giving a good |
| and the proper DocType for the pages means the | | | | experience to visually impaired users. |
| browser knows what to expect from the code and | | | | Using CSS and XHTML also helps you comply with |
| can display it much more quickly. | | | | the UK Disability Discrimination Act rules for accessible |
| In practice, converting to a standards based CSS | | | | Web sites. This is a valuable side-effect of using this |
| layout on one client's Web site reduced the time it took | | | | kind of coding and takes no extra development time to |
| the page to display by almost a quarter of a second. | | | | be compliant. |
| Although this is a very small amount of time, it is more | | | | Helps browsing from different devices |
| than enough to make a Web site feel much more | | | | As well as helping screen readers, using CSS means |
| snappy and responsive, helping it give a good | | | | alternative devices like mobile phones and PDAs can |
| impression to your potential customers. | | | | show your content effectively and easily. Although the |
| Makes your Web site quicker to update | | | | current market in the West for browsing the Web |
| As well as making your pages display quicker, CSS | | | | through mobiles is small, it is growing and by using CSS |
| makes it easier to make global updates to your Web | | | | you can create a Web site which is easily viewable on |
| site. Say you're having a minor change in corporate | | | | these devices with little extra effort,. So as more |
| image and want all your page headings changed from | | | | people use them it will be simple to convert your site |
| blue to green. With CSS controlling how your headings | | | | to work with current or future devices.. |
| look, that means changing the colour in one file and the | | | | Downsides |
| whole site shows the change - a two minute job | | | | Currently, Web browsers treat CSS slightly differently, |
| rather than having to edit every page on the site. | | | | so when your Web site is created you may need |
| This flexibility gives you the opportunity to do more | | | | slightly more cross-browser testing, and you will need |
| with your Web site. Want to show your support for | | | | to find a Web designer who understands how to build |
| Red Nose Day? Again, one file change can put a little | | | | a site in CSS correctly. Most professional designers |
| red nose next to all of your headers, turn the text red | | | | and developers are now seeing the benefits of |
| and even make them display in a silly typeface. | | | | creating standards based CSS sites, but it is worth |
| Turning them back to normal for the next day is, once | | | | ensuring that anyone you hire to make your Web site |
| again, a single file change. | | | | does know CSS before starting a project. |
| Good for Search Engine Optimisation | | | | But the downsides are small when compared to the |
| Because using CSS removes lots of HTML from your | | | | immediate and ongoing benefits of a CSS-based Web |
| pages as layout and the look of text is controlled | | | | site. |