Web Design Tips: Converting an Older Table-Based Email Template To CSS

Many email templates were developed using older table-based layouts that "break" easily and are very complicated to maintain.

Tables in HTML are fantastic for displaying tabular data. But as a layout tool they interfere with some dynamic and rich media elements, cause accessibility challenges, hog bandwidth, create maintenance issues, and are more fragile than CSS layouts. And for all of these reasons, it is time to update your broadcast email templates.

In this edition of Web Design Tips, I'll quickly show you how to convert a broadcast email template from a table-based layout to a fast and lovely CSS layout.

Handle With Care: Table-Based Layouts Break Easily

I have a confession to make. One of Practical eCommerce's email templates (our supplement) broke. It was not a huge issue, but a few horizontal rules got out of place. The problem had to do with the template' s table-layout.

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HTML and CSS Validation: Should You Validate Your Web Page?

f you don't hang around webmaster circles, you may not realise that HTML validation and CSS validation are controversial issues with some people. This article discusses some of the positions taken in these discussions to provide some perspectives on issues that have come increasingly to the fore in web development. Hopefully, the article will also provide a practical method that overworked webmasters can use to improve their website.

Some Background Information: What does Validating HTML or CSS Mean?

For those who are unfamiliar with what validating a web page (ie validating your HTML or CSS code) means, it basically refers to using a program or an online service to check that the web page that you created is free of errors.

In particular, an HTML validator checks to make sure the HTML code on your web page complies with the standards set by the W3 Consortium (the organisation that issues the HTML standards). There are various types of validators - some check only for errors, others also make suggestions about your code, telling you when a certain way of writing things might lead to (say) unexpected results.

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Web Shop Design: Using Flash Effectively

The question as to what and how much animation is appropriate for a Web site has plagued Web developers ever since the early days of the Internet. While tools such as Flash now include smart features that overcome some of their early limitations, this doesn't mean that every site needs Flash content. In this article, I'll explain some of the benefits and disadvantages of Flash and tell you what you need to do to make sure Flash works for you and not against you.

Flash: The Good and Bad

Flash is a common plug-in with Adobe research showing that 99 percent of Web users have Flash available. So, it is fair to assume that anyone visiting your site can probably view Flash content. If you choose to use Flash, one thing you'll like about it is that it is pretty much browser independent so you can expect your Flash movie to look the same in all browsers, which is not the case with HTML or CSS.

On the downside, Flash movies, particularly those that have not been designed correctly, can be slow to download and display leaving a delay between when the visitor gets to your site and when the content starts to play. This can be particularly annoying when a Web site is created entirely in Flash — a visitor won't see anything until the site has loaded. This experience is bad enough when using a DSL or broadband connection, and for dial-up users it's even worse.

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Web Browsers Used In Professional Web Designing

The client software that allows you to display and interact with hypertext document hosted on the web server is called the web browser. When you access a document using a browser the document is transferred to the local host and the link is broken thereby reducing the amount of traffic on the internet. Viewing the web requires the use of any browser program to view files, download images and movies or listen to the downloaded sound files.

There are different kinds of text based and graphical user interface based browsers. Text based browsers are simple and require less sophisticated computers and terminals than graphic user interface browsers. The graphic user interface browsers are mouse or icon oriented programs that run under graphic user interface systems such as windows, Macintosh etc. most of these programs automatically display the formatted text with various fonts, pictures, sounds and movies, with a simple click of the mouse- they provide internet multi media.

The text based browsers also read the same hypertext markup language text files as graphic user interface browsers but they display them without formatting. They do not display inline pictures from the document being read, but allow some of the pictures and the sound files to be downloaded and viewed or played on the local computer at a later time, provided the computer has the proper software and hardware. Browsers allow you to directly enter a uniform resource locator to go to a specific document.

Also there are different types of text based web browsers like Linux. It is a text- only browser developed at the University of Kansas. Linux runs on the UNIX or VMS based host computers where you have your login id not on your PC. Therefore phone line access does not require a SLIP or PPP account with the internet service providers. Just as a shell account with internet access the presence of the Linux program

on the internet service providers system is sufficient. With Linux you cannot view graphics or listen to sound, but you can read hypertext, place the cursor on highlighted words and move around the web by clicking on the mouse.

The graphic user interface browsers are easy to use, point and click type that operate under the same graphical system like windows, Macintosh etc. when started, most of them automatically retrieves and displays a home page. This default home page is often the home page of the site where the browser was developed. You can also change this home page to any other page for which you have a universal resource locator. Netscape navigator and internet explorer are the most popular graphic user interface browsers.

Author Resource:- Kyle Newton is a Professional web design and ecommerce professional with 7 years of experience in the web development and internet marketing field. He has developed total online presence systems and has helped establish many successful online businesses.

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