Switching from <table> to <div>

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March 16th, 2007, 08:46 AM

jwbond

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Switching from <table> to <div>

I have been meaning to switch the new version of my site from <table> to <div>, but have not had the time. I don't think I'll have the time until after launch of the new site.

I want to have the body text show up at the top of the html file for the spiders. I would like to come up with a fix prior to launch. I was thinking about using a <div> tag w/ absolute positioning. Here is psuedo code of what i currently have...

Code:

<? require("header_temp.php") ?>

<? require("body_temp.php") ?>

[INSERT UNIQUE PAGE CONTENT HERE]

<? require("footer_temp.php") ?>

I think using absolute positioning with a <div> can allow me to do the following and still have the page content show in the same spot.

Code:

<? require("header_temp.php") ?>

<div>[INSERT UNIQUE PAGE CONTENT HERE]</div>

<? require("body_temp.php") ?>

<? require("footer_temp.php") ?>

Thoughts anyone?

March 16th, 2007, 09:38 AM

NavyCS

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Only problem I have ever had with absolute positioning is everything else around it moves

When your done ensure you look at it in a few different resolutions.

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March 16th, 2007, 09:38 AM

tstolber

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Yes it will but if a page is resived then it won't flot correctly.

Put up your XHTML 1.0 CSS 2.0 site with the content first and then the navigation links, then everything else that makes up the page afterwards.

I think you will be creating more work for your self here.

The difference between table layout and CSS positioned content is minimal. I wouldn't worry about it until you are ready to throw up your new site.

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March 18th, 2007, 04:59 AM

bkk

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Quote:

The difference between table layout and CSS positioned content is minimal. I wouldn't worry about it until you are ready to throw up your new site.

Agreed; certainly in terms of SEO, whether you use tables or CSS will have zero bearing on where you rank.

I can write a small function (10 lines of code) that strips out all HTML tags just to leave the content. I can write code in one line to identify H1 tag of a web page....you get the point.

If I can do this, I'm slightly sure the likes of Google have no troubles with identifying the content of the page no matter how tag-souped the HTML is.

March 19th, 2007, 08:44 AM

jwbond

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Quote:

Originally Posted by bkk

Perhaps I didn't make myself clear enough...

The additional html tags aren't a concern, my concern is the order of the content. Currently, my content is as follows.

Code:

<table>
<tr>
<td>
SIDE BAR CONENT
</td>
<td>
BODY CONTENT
</td>
</table>

My sidebar consists of nav links, rss feeds, and testimonials. All text that is not optimized or as important for seo terms as the body content.

March 19th, 2007, 09:43 AM

bhornung

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Quote:

Originally Posted by jwbond

Perhaps I didn't make myself clear enough...

The additional html tags aren't a concern, my concern is the order of the content. Currently, my content is as follows.

Code:

<table>
<tr>
<td>
SIDE BAR CONENT
</td>
<td>
BODY CONTENT
</td>
</table>

My sidebar consists of nav links, rss feeds, and testimonials. All text that is not optimized or as important for seo terms as the body content.

I assume you are concerned with the placement of the text relative to your keywords?

I would say you are OK as long as your side bar content isn't a whole lot of content that will "dillute" or take away from the page's relevancy in relation to the keywords you are targeting.

I know some people say to get your keywords as close to the beginning as possible, but I think as long as you have good content on your pages then that is what counts. Not the placement of the words on a page.

March 19th, 2007, 09:49 AM

jwbond

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Quote:

Originally Posted by bhornung

Sometimes I will have as much as 7 posts from an rss feed or 3 - 200word testimonials prior to the real text. I guess it can't hurt to switch to <divs> for more preferrable placement, but not until I have the time to do so, as it is not a major factor.

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