What is CSS?
CSS is a simple file which controls the visual appearance of a Web page without compromising its structure. Using CSS we can control our font size, font color, link color and many other attributes on our web page. This will make our HTML code much more readable and the page size will be reduced.
Why to use it and how to use it properly
If you don't use CSS on your web pages and you have many tables and content on them, chances are that your HTML file size will be quite big. Fact is that we live in a busy world, and people are not will to wait more than 5 seconds web page to load.
From the other side some web developers implement the CSS on wrong way. They write their CSS in HTML code of the page, like this:
<html>
<head>
<title>My Page</title>
<style>
A
{
font-family: Verdana;
font-size:8pt;
color:black;
text-decoration:none
}
</style >
What is wrong with this technique? Well, imagine that you have site with more than 50 pages. One day, you decide that you want to change font color and colors of the links on your site. You will have to edit ALL the pages on your site, and do to that you will need time, because you place your CSS in your web page.
Better way is to save your visual attributes in separate, external CSS file, and to link that file with your page like this:
<html>
<head>
<title>My Page</title>
<link href="myStyle.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css">
Using this technique, you can change the look of your site within minutes, regardless of the number of pages, because your visual attributes are saved in ONE external CSS file. Edit that file, and you are done.
Benefits
Which are the benefits of using CSS? List is quite long and I will list here only the most important.
Avoiding standard HTML commands like:
<font color="#0000ff"><font size=2>Product</font></font></font>
will help us to reduce file size, but that is not the only benefit. Using CSS word product in this example will be moved more close on the top of the document. Search engine will pick up more content and less code.
Imagine that you have 3 columns table on your page. When you see the code, you will notice that first come code for your table, and after that it come your content. Positioning your 3 columns using CSS instead of standard inline elements:
<table width="90%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
<tr>
<td width="381" height="150" valign="top" bgcolor="FFEDD4">
My Product
</td>
<td height="150" valign="top" bgcolor="FFEDD4">
When CSS is used, your code might look like this:
<div id="leftcontent">
My Product
</div>
Again your code is much more clear, and your content is moved on the top of your document, making your HTML page search engine friendly, and reducing your file size.
Content is one of the most important factors in Search Engine Optimization, and you will benefit with removing the unnecessary code in your HTML and create search engine friendly web page.
Validate it
Browser war is far behind us. Reality is that most of the people today use Internet Explorer, but you should try to be on safe side and ensure that your CSS code is valid. Not all browsers interpret the CSS on same way. You can validate your CSS here: http://jigsaw.w3.org/css-validator/
About The Author
Zoran Makrevski is founder and CEO of SEO.Goto.gr.
Since 1998 has focused on E-Commerce and attempts to bring more traffic to the customer sites bring him in the SEO industry, and he is running his own company today.
Search Engine Positioning Firm
Just like all things in life, the ways to run... Read More
When most people build a web site, they think one... Read More
Dance is how you pamper your soul and satiate your... Read More
Q. Hey, Cathy: I'm just setting up a website. What... Read More
Everyone wants one.Everyone wishes they knew how to make one.SOME... Read More
Launching a new small business website is often a long... Read More
Creatively marketing your corporate site takes time in the set... Read More
Starting a business online is no longer as difficult as... Read More
Mini Websites are the most powerful and cost effective solution... Read More
In the late 1990's three San Francisco based web developers... Read More
Getting a Targeted Visitor to a website is a waste... Read More
Internet Marketing is not a miracle marketing strategy ? competition... Read More
Every business needs to know how it is doing. That's... Read More
So you have a good idea for a business and... Read More
Thinking about starting up a business? The web is the... Read More
People often come to me in a state of crisis... Read More
Your site is fast and getting traffic, but conversion rates... Read More
cPanel is a control panel for your website and allows... Read More
Some left shoes are in isle 5, while the right... Read More
They might not be wearing a mask and carrying a... Read More
Customer service questionnaires can help your clients better understand their... Read More
Before you start building your site, ask yourself "WHY?". Why... Read More
So you want to take a look at a real... Read More
How popular is online shopping? And is there room for... Read More
Web templates by nature are created to aid and ease... Read More
In about the Time it takes to Watch a Reality... Read More
If you haven't made the sales and built your clients... Read More
Writing for the web is totally different to writing for... Read More
--------------------------------Why Should You Create a website?--------------------------------A. What do you want... Read More
Did you know that hosting companies overcrowd their servers despite... Read More
As a business you can't afford to ignore the Internet... Read More
Dynamically Update Your Web Pages Via E-MailIf you can Send... Read More
Before you jump into spending coutnless hours on designing and... Read More
Wow, we`ve already taken a domain and chosen a web... Read More
When used to describe a web site, the term "sticky"... Read More
I can't think of any business alive today that couldn't... Read More
Why do some sites succeed while the vast majority of... Read More
Some left shoes are in isle 5, while the right... Read More
After deciding what kind of internet business you want to... Read More
The big thing these days is your ability to capture... Read More
Your site is getting traffic, but conversion rates are horrible.... Read More
People often come to me in a state of crisis... Read More
Every good Internet business understands the value of conversions versus... Read More
Through the explosive growth of the Web, companies have realized... Read More
We all start out the same. Some have budgets, some... Read More
This is a growing concern amongst many business owners. Does... Read More
Have you ever thought the secret behind the success of... Read More
80% of your Web site is Maintenance!Once your Web site... Read More
Many small businesses have the misconception that their business can... Read More
Your ObjectiveYour small business needs an appealing and professional website... Read More
So you have decided that you want to do freelance... Read More
Think up a name and check if yourname.com is available.... Read More
With search engines putting a damper on direct reciprocal links,... Read More
This simple question can take on several different forms, but... Read More
When web content gets discussed on webmaster bulletin boards, the... Read More
Server Side Includes (SSI) with ASP People often... Read More
One of my most salient memories from when I sold... Read More
What do you mean, you don't have a website for... Read More
Three way linking and concerns.For many years SEO experts were... Read More
Before you start building your site, ask yourself "WHY?". Why... Read More
The first thing my business consultant (read brother-in-law) asked me,... Read More
Web sites are an Ongoing Part of Business.All too many... Read More
Writing for the web is totally different to writing for... Read More
There was a time not long ago when setting up... Read More
Creating and maintaining an effective presence on the Web has... Read More
Appealing to others is really important when you have a... Read More
Web Development |