Member Avatar for php_noob

is really tables are out of the designing world?

is really CSS is a must in every website?

Please help me learning CSS, can you recommend websites that has a CSS TUTORIAL in ZERO KNOWLEDGE LEVEL...

:'(

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by MidiMagic

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Short answer: tables should be reserved for tabular data; they are not the right tool for page layout. As pointed out, using tables for layout mixes presentation with content and makes pages harder to maintain and less accessible. As remembered, that was largely a historical workaround for older browsers — today CSS is the correct, practical way to control layout.

Modern CSS solves most of the column/layout problems mentioned in the thread. Flexbox handles one‑dimensional layouts (rows or columns) and Grid handles two‑dimensional layouts (complex row + column arrangements). These tools were designed to replace table-based hacks and work reliably across current browsers. Readable, up‑to‑date references: MDN Learn CSS and the CSS‑Tricks guides for Flexbox and Grid.

If starting from zero, follow a small, practical path: learn semantic HTML first (use the right tags for content), then the CSS fundamentals (box model, selectors, cascade), then layout (Flexbox → Grid), then responsive techniques (media queries, fluid units). Practice by converting a simple table-based layout into semantic HTML plus Grid or Flexbox; that exercise reveals common pitfalls and how CSS solves them. Free, project-based courses like freeCodeCamp — Responsive Web Design are useful for hands‑on practice.

Quick troubleshooting tips: inspect with browser devtools to see computed sizes; prefer fluid widths, min/max constraints and box-sizing: border-box over fixed pixel widths; test on narrow viewports; avoid using tables for margins/borders; if you must keep legacy table layouts long term, ensure they are marked up and tested for keyboard/screen‑reader access (role/presentation can hide purely decorative tables but is not a substitute for proper markup).

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Member Avatar for Cerberus

I think the move is for tables to only be used for displaying data and CSS is used to organise the look and feel of the site. I think some older browsers still don't support (or not to standard) CSS, so this could be an issue with a site using CSS. I might be wrong about all of this though.

As for tutorials http://www.w3schools.com/css/default.asp the W3C tutorials is always a good starting point. But i think the best way to learn is just to practice.

Good luck.

Member Avatar for php_noob

GEEZ... Thanks... many of my friends really recommend w3school...
All right... so there is no such thing as zero table in a website...

Member Avatar for MidiMagic

The problem is that people were using tables to create page margins, borders, and other objects which can't be readily done without style sheets.

There is absolutely no reason to not use tables for tabular data, or for forms with rows and columns of data entry.

The place where the division is hazy is the creation of columns. W3C wants us to use multiple div boxes instead of tables. The problem is that it doesn't always work.

Div works fine for making columns on the top level, but it falls apart if the columns are inside some other object (such as being part of one item in an ordered or bulleted list), or if the browser window is narrower than the contents of the columns.

Since table is not deprecated, I suggest that you use it if the div method falls apart and you don't want it to. Maybe someday W3C will come up with a design that does not fall apart.

Also, if older browsers that don't do styles absolutely must show margins, the page will still have to have the table in it to produce the margins.

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