Tables don’t work well for layout because they are markup that is used specifically for layout. Layout should be handled separately, because it is not always guaranteed that you will want to change the markup when you change the layout. If the markup is well written, it is possible to completely re-design the style of the site without changing a single line of the markup.

It’s about separation of content from what that content looks like. That’s the movement.

That being said there are shortcomings to CSS. It doesn’t deal well with vertical alignment, floats are a little complicated to grasp and tasks that would be rather simple in tables can sometimes be a chore (even if you know CSS well).

In some cases, if it’s tabular data, it makes sense to use a table. If it’s not tabular data, you’re probably trying to fit a round peg in a square hole, and when you go to re-design your site or tweak the layout, you will regret your decision.

The main reason people started moving away from tables was because it was code-bloat on your Web page, which resulted in slower downloads for the end-user.

Well, we don’t live in a 28.8k modem world anymore. A very good percentage of internet users in North America (where 90% of the internet commerce is done) have some form of broadband. And those users are *generally* the type of folks most people want as customers… they’re affluent and have expendable income.

Personally, the whole Tables vs. CSS thing is about as useful as a Quark vs. InDesign argument… pointless, since both are capable of doing the job quite well.

I start all of my designs in a non-table format – ALWAYS. I use Fireworks, then work from there. My point was that knowing the roots will help you grow.
As a designer, you know this.

I’ve been using Dreamweaver for 7 years now, and I can tell you hands-down that using tables is a necessity in web design.

What? Me thinks you think that it is still 1997.
Start reading!
Web 2.0 is calling you

Case in point:
I went to recording school in the early 90′s, when there were not too many digital systems that were affordable. Everyone was starting to get the home multitrack recorders that used cassettes. They sounded horrible, and rightfully so. Then a decade later, this wave hit where digital multitracks were finally accessible. We now have the power to use the same technology that the pros are using right on our desktops. Does that mean that all of a sudden there’s incredible music released now like never before? You know that answer.

I can tell you that when you work with teams, especially developers who will be populating your code with thier code, that it’s a necessity to keep your code accessible for them. There’s allot to understanding tables: working with spacing and cell padding, when to use percentages or code absolute widths, when to use a non-breaking space or to grab a transparent gif… sure they’re difficult at times, but learning the fundamentals will go far. And a plug: get studio8.

I mean, style sheets don’t confuse me. But something about CSS just makes it so darn odd. But I am working on learning it too.

Particularly with GoLive CS2 there is now an option for choosing between table-based layout and CSS-based layout. The difference in code throwweight alone that I’ve seen proves out Maxine’s comment.

I was wondering whether with CSS you could still use WYSIWYG applications. Do you know if Dreamweaver can do that?

P.S.: I do know that GoLive isn’t just a WYSIWYG application, but it does have that capability.

Perhaps it was seeing all those <td>'s and </td>'s, etc…they’re not too big but, use a few here, use a few there, pretty soon you’re talking about a biiig block of code.

Particularly with GoLive CS2 there is now an option for choosing between table-based layout and CSS-based layout. The difference in code throwweight alone that I’ve seen proves out Maxine’s comment.