Div or Table , which one best?

[vanlines]

Hi Guys,
Please tell me that which generally use for designing Table or Div . and which is best and how?
Thanks

[ChillDot]

Div, tables were used in the 80's, Do NOT design using table anymore, its restricts everything.

Obviously use tables where tables are needed but not for the main design features. I would advise reading some HTML books or looking at some online tutorials. Search for The New Boston on Google, Bucky Roberts gives some amazing lectures for free on various subjects.

[NathanielB]

As noted above, any good looking website will not be built on tables as you are restricted to what you can do with a table. A mix of divs, css and well written code will work best!

I take it your new to coding, so I would advice you hire someone who knows what they are doing to code your site for you because a poor quality design can instantly turn people away from your even if it has the best deals, content etc in the world, if your site looks poor people wont generally give it the time of day these days!

There are some quality sites to learn from though if your interested in learning how to code well, for example, I learnt more of my basic skills and knowledge for html and css at w3schools.com which I would recommend as a starting place for anyone how is interested in learning how to code.

But as I mentioned, if you know nothing about building a website, hire someone to make your money site because you want it to be the best it can to give you the best chance possible! Also web design is a specialist job, so hire a real designer, don't just knock up any old muck in paint lol

[ggiwebsinfo]

Hi Guys,
Please tell me that which generally use for designing Table or Div . and which is best and how?
Thanks

Mine advice to you...Firstly must learn HTML coding from online tutorials then you know how they differ from their functionality...Firstly must learn...

[geneoliver]

Div is the better than table for security purpose.anyone cannot copy your design.

[tstolber]

Please tell me that which generally use for designing Table or Div .

It is more common to use elements on a page typically styled using DIV tags. Tables are not often used in modern web design.
It is often mis understood and referenced that you have to use DIV tags to mark up content. This is not true, you can apply many different parameters to almost any HTML element. It doesn't have to be nested inside a DIV tag.

and which is best

Thats a fairly subjective question, but HTML tables are less efficient from a design perspective.

and how?

HTML Coding. Better Google that one.

[ggiwebsinfo]

In programming div tag mainly used by programmers because of its functions over traditional Table tag and also you have to learn first to distinguish between them.

[ChillDot]

its totally depend on you what you want to use...if you are basic user you should use Table to design the page....it will clear you basics stursture of the page...but finally when you become intermediator then you must use div its a very comfortable tag to desing a HTML page....with the best use of CSS i a DIV tag is more reliable then Table;

Why would you advise someone to learn initially using bad and outdated methods. It doesn't make it easier using tables, infact when you want to change something it will usually be harder, if not impossible, to get the desired effect with tables.

start to learn using divs, there is a lot of support out there for them and so anyone who is struggling can ask specific questions and get good answers on how to solve the problem.

If you are not capable of learning divs with the resources available today, my advice would be to find a new career/ employ someone to make your site/ use wordpress

**And yes you got lucky getting rep as i forgot to check the disagree button >.<

[NathanielB]

its totally depend on you what you want to use...if you are basic user you should use Table to design the page....it will clear you basics stursture of the page...but finally when you become intermediator then you must use div its a very comfortable tag to desing a HTML page....with the best use of CSS i a DIV tag is more reliable then Table;

Rubbish! Start how you intend to carry on, the right way!

Would you really want to give people a poor experience for 3 months on your site simply because you don't know how to do something? Or would you rather hire someone to do it right or learn to do it right and start with your whole body in the door rather then a toe that's bound to get chopped off thinking that way!?

**And yes you got lucky getting rep as i forgot to check the disagree button >.<

Don't worry, I'm about to fix that for you *Maybe not, seems we can't change that much lol, so I will just give bad rep instead*

[iansweb]

I could be wrong here (wouldn't be the first time); but;

one: tables are not accessible friendly [screen readers] hence the reason they are not considered good practice
two: they were not considered very good for seo

Both for the same reason: because the pages are read in a linear fashion, so for example it would read it as 'date (first column), home team(second column), away team (third column), 1st April, Warrington, Cheshire, 1st April, Newport, Leeds' so it would not make much sense trying to index or read out loud. When using the top of the table as the item you could end up with some real wierd stuff.

Not sure which came first in reality, not sure which is the chicken either, but hopefully you get the drift.

Also would suggest the OP learns to use a search engine first and then use another forum [no offence intended but there is no polite way of saying it].

Excuse the brashness of my first post, but I'm not new here; I was previously using another username and can't for the life of me remember the password never mind.

I've been away for a couple of years so hello again, it's good to catch up.

[fariadali]

Before we go forward into discussing how to secure your code, I would like to bring into your knowledge that the use of tables in creating websites has become outdated. DIV is more commonly used because of its ease of use. Returning back to the question, encryption is the best method to secure your code. There are several free encrypting and decrypting sources available online.

[forgottenlife]

Hi guys, sorry if I appeared to have jumped into this thread, but we are facing a dilemma regarding DIVs/CSS vs TABLES.

Our site was designed primarily using tables, with text and other styles using CSS. The problem is that we just couldn't get a decent ranking on Google after nearly 3 years. We were told that by using tables it is hurting our rankings.

We are considering having all the pages rewritten using just DIVs and CSS. Do you think this might help? Just wondering if the difference it makes warrants the investment.

Thanks

[iansweb]

In a word: yes

Google and screen readers look at the text in the order it is written in the html code, this does not always make sense, if you look at your source code and read it out load ignoring the html tags you will see what I mean.

Translating your text into divs should not be a painful operation, however if your text has remained the same for 3 years then this will also have a bearing on how your pages are percieved.

I've just looked at your source and it is a bit of a mess, you have tables within divs and divs within tables? you do need to re-think your layout and maybe what to drop; it might be worth looking at using a cms and your clients can then use it to make their own updates and keep some continuity.

Welcome to the forum

[iansweb]

Here's a bit using an online Lynx viewer

NEW - Email Your Shortlist You can now add properties to your shortlist and have the whole list emailed to you or a friend for later viewing. Simply start by clicking the "Add To Shortlist" link on your selected properties. [1]Dismiss Self-Catering Holiday Villas & Apartments For Rent in France, Spain, Portugal, England, Italy, Turkey, Cyprus and more [2]Holiday Rentals Shortlist View / Email My Shortlist | [3]Login | [4]Register [holiday_lettings_header_top.jpg] [5]Back to Alpha Holiday Lettings Home Page Search ______________________________ Search * [6]Home * [7]Destinations [8]Europe > [9]England [10]France [11]Spain [12]Portugal [13]Italy [14]Cyprus [15]Turkey [16]Bulgaria [17]more |> [18]North America > [19]Florida [20]Orlando [21]New York [22]more |>

This is what your web site looks like in text, does it make any sense?

[forgottenlife]

Thanks for the reply Ian. Yes you are right, the current structure is a bit of a mess, a mish-mash of tables and divs. My other worry is like you said, the sudden change after 3 years may cause some concerns. I think we may have to convert page to Divs and CSS bit by bit, in order to avoid the 'shock'.

Another question I would like to ask is that our home page, and also that of our competitors, mainly consists of text links and does not have much text. Is this considered low quality from search engine's point of view? If so, what can we do to improve it?

Thanks again!