Web Knob

Things I've learned about web editing recently.

• Frames: Bad idea.
• Too limited in design of a page.
• Too much opportunity for things to go haywire when someone changes their fonts or browser size. I use frames on my page and I hate them.
• Frames don't work on most portable devices.
• Shit disappears.
• Templates: Bad idea.
• An amazing idea in the first days of a project. Get out of hand quickly.
• You can't apply one and then modify it in place, then re-apply it later.
• Cant get rid of the damn things and leave the code behind.
• Layers: Bad idea.
• Replaced by CSS
• Tables: Good for some things, not whole pages.
• Look good on paper.
• Cause headaches when you start setting too many limitations.
• The site Looses flow of information easily. It is like everything is written in stone.
• hard to modify stuff across an entire site once stuff is in place.
• CSS: Better than most of the above.
• Solves most of the problems above.
• Won't allow real code to be placed, just attributes.

CSS it is. Head First is good book to get a head start on (X)HTML and CSS. It walks you through scenarios and shows solutions. It is a bit slow for someone who has a clue about editing HTML and the sort, but a great walk through. Advanced users need not apply.