Register Domain Names - Web Hosting Registration Services

How To Design Your Web Site With CSS

Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) allows you to create fast loading pages, increase your search engine rankings, and modify your whole site with one style sheet. So why don't more people use them? This is because they got so used to html design and are afraid or too lazy to upgrade their skills. Some will also use ready made templates that contain flashy graphics, bloated code and sometimes even contains hidden code embedded in the page.

In this series of articles I will show you how to create a simple web site using CSS, so you will have no excuse to begin incorporating them into your future designs.

What are Cascading Style Sheets?

Cascading Style Sheets is the name of a simple language that allows you to add any style (font, colors, graphics, links, layouts) to your web pages.

Benefits of Cascading Style Sheets

1. Separate content from presentation – you can separate your HTML markup, text, graphics and multimedia from presentation.

2. Consistent site wide look and feel consistency – you can apply one style for 100s of web pages all at once. So if you had to change the color of all pages on your site, you only have to edit one style sheet. This saves you a huge amount of time, especially if you had to edit each page separately.

3. Web site maintenance - apart from being able to make site wide changes easily through one CSS file, the clean code it generates makes it easier to update. Properly marked up web pages permit them to be maintained by more than one person. It will also work in more browsers. Web site redesigns will take much less time.

4. Improve search engine rankings – search engines generally spider the code at the top of your web page first. For most sites that means the navigation bar will be spidered first (resides at top of page code). CSS enables you to position the code for your content at the top making your page search engine friendly. Properly marked up HTML pages can easily found and properly categorized by search engines

5. Fast loading – CSS reduces the amount of tags used therefore producing clean code. Tableless design can reduce your load time by 25% to 50%.

6. Reduce bandwidth – compacting the amount of code used will reduce the amount of bandwidth needed to host your web pages. Therefore you won't have to pay higher fees when adding more web documents to your site.

7. Accessibility - increasing accessibility with CSS means being able to serve web content to a larger audience, increasing web site usability, even for non-disabled people. Content can easily be formatted for projection as well as screen display. Tableless layouts display well on hand-helds.

8. Improve the printing of web pages – most printers will only allow you to print a portion of the web page. With CSS your whole document can be printed.

When you use CSS it becomes quick and easy to apply new styles that can not only effect all styles on your web page but even your whole site.

In the next article I will explain how to layout a web page using CSS.

Herman Drost is the Certified Internet Webmaster (CIW) owner and author of http://www.iSiteBuild.com Affordable Web Site Design and Web Hosting. Subscribe to his "Marketing Tips" newsletter for more original articles. mailto:subscribe@isitebuild.com. You can read more of his in-depth articles at: http://www.isitebuild.com/articles

MORE ARTICLES:

Beware of Imitations! Security, Internet Scams, and the African Real Estate Agenda
Fishing on the Internet has come a long way. However, we TechWeb junkies like to call it Phishing.

Web Site Turn Ons
When you develop a sales brochure, you have a mental checklist of what needs to be in it. You probably look at brochures from other vendors.

A New Gardening Retailer Makes Its Entrance into the Internet World
Flowergardennursery.com (www.flowergardennursery.com) declares its brand-new website. The brand-new online retailer is a haven for all gardeners, as well as perspective gardeners. Their selections include seeds, bulbs, shrubs, trees, etc.

Likno Software is Proud to Announce the Launch of AllWebMenus 5.1 PRO build #734, the Most Versatile System Available for Your Web Site Navigation Nee
The new, major version of AllWebMenus brings you a full set of optimized existing and new features and properties, which make cross-browser menu-making easier for the professional and amateur web developer.

Sun Microsystems Unveils Enterprise AMP Stack for Solaris and Linux : Releases Open Source Java System Web Server into the OpenSolaris Community
Sun Microsystems, Inc. (Nasdaq:JAVA), today announced the availability of the Sun Web Stack, a fully supported and integrated enterprise-quality AMP (Apache/MySQL/Perl or PHP) stack for Solaris(TM) and Linux operating systems. The Web Stack software includes the open source, standards-based software most commonly used for Web-tier application development and services. Download the Web Stack at http://www.sun.com/webstack

Browsing the Web with the Palm Centro Smart Phone
The new Palm Centro Smart Phone is the latest development in a long line of ever-changing cell phone history. Each time a new cycle of cell phones come out, it tops the previous line by providing something extra. That something extra can be basic like expanding the number of contacts in an address book. It can be something cutting edge like photo instant messaging. Then it can be something like what the new Palm Centro Smart Phone provides - the ability to be online, anywhere, at anytime. The Smart Phone comes equipped with the Blazer mobile web browser. This works in much the same way as the home computer internet connection. The only real difference is this internet service is provided on your cell phone. It is becoming a hot trendy 'mu...

DonBest.com Launches New Sports Information Website for Handicapping Enthusiasts
DonBest.com, a subsidiary of FUN Technologies Inc. (TSX:FUN) (AIM:FUN), today announced it has completely redesigned its website to deliver best of breed navigation and utility for current and future subscribers. Originally launched in 1989 as the first sports information website, DonBest.com continues to offer the latest information available for both professional and amateur sports handicapping enthusiasts, including Real-Time Odds, Express Odds and Guaranteed Picks from the best handicappers in the industry.

Using Include Files To Make Changes To All Your Website Pages Instantly
Subscriber Karen Balacek poses the following question "I have a template with my menubar and my banner on all my pages

Getting More Links To Your Website
The more links you have to your site (AKA backlinks), the higher listing you have with search engines. It also brings you more traffic. You can also exchange links with another site. This in known as a 2 way link. A one way link is better though. You can submit your link to directories to get one way links. People can go to these thousands of directories and add their link to it.

Hard Rock Park Rocks Myrtle Beach
The much anticipated Hard Rock Park opened its doors in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina this month. The Rock n' Roll inspired and family oriented theme park has dubbed its premier season a "Summer of Fun".

AtHomeFitness.Net : Your Source for Premium Discount Fitness Equipment, Now Online
In addition to their local Arizona stores, At Home Fitness recently created their online sales presence at AtHomeFitness.net.

Jump for Fun Provides Total Party Management with New Website from i5 Web Works
When Jump for Fun, the biggest jump arena in Texas, opened in Southlake Memorial Day weekend it already had parties booked, although no one had ever seen it. A Website developed by i5 web works was in place to provide total party management - schedule parties, order food, send invitations, track RSVPs, gifts and thank you notes in minutes, without leaving home.

The Shrek Model of Web Design
Here is a web design theory : websites are like onions, you see, since websites have layers. And ogres are like onions, since ogres have layers. Websites are designed by web designers. Ergo - web designers are like ogres.

Call For Entries: Designs For the Internet Generation
Electrolux Design Lab 2008 invites industrial design students around the world to create tomorrow's home appliances for the Internet generation, deadline May 30.