what's wrong with using tables?

i keep being told to use CSS to layout my site instead of tables but why? with tables my site looks fine on every browser i test it on.

tables seem easier for me and also allows me to make the site fluid instead of fixed, i don't want to learn CSS if it doesn't allow me to do this.

1. so is using tables ok, or should i learn CSS?

2. does CSS allow you to make the layout fluid?

yeah its OK, but it's not great, or reccomended.

You should definitely learn CSS. It will probably open up a lot of doors to things you hadn't even thought of.

Yes. and much more.

It's a fairly basic language compared to others, and you can pick the basics up very quickly.

Tables were never meant to be used for layout. They were meant to be... tables.

Cheers,
Jim.

As Jimz said, tables were meant for displaying data, not layout.

Having said that, I still use a table here and there just because it's quicker and easier to code.

But one obvious bad point is that, when it comes to changing the layout (if you ever have too), there's a lot more code involved.

And on that point, search engine measure how much visible text you have on your pages (keyword density). CSS allows you to minimize markup code and maximize your keyword density, which in my opinion is a MUST!

Could anyone recommend a good tutorial on using CSS for layout. I am new to CSS so something suitable for complete dummies would be perfect. I'd be much obliged if anyone has worthy recommendations.

Here you go
http://glish.com/css/

Hello.

There are many factors wrong with using tables for a layout design, for one tables were created for tabular use which I am sure layouts are not. Tables are bad and lack validation, but also take up more code, more space and always have a different outcome in Web Browsers.

Thanks,
Dan Williamson

If the layout your doing is very complicated and you havent got alot of time to spend doing it you should consider tables, else do some css. You can make tables xhtml compliant btw so theres no issues there.

I have never actually seen a site that you can't do in CSS.

Table sites can be done alot quicker for complex layouts.

I'm at a point lately where I've had to do some html emails using tables and font tags, etc (can't use CSS in the average email), and holy crap, did it take me 5 times longer.

Table are hard to use now, and offer much less control.

herk's just getting old :P

Tables limit your design drastically.

Almost every site I look at I think of away of being able to recreate it using tables, ok it may take longer, but how does that limit my design?