[WEB4LIB] Re: What's next after HTML?

[Chris Gray]

Again I would highly recommend "Cascading Style Sheets: Separating Content
from Presentation" from Glasshaus.  It lays out all the whys and
wherefores of CSS very clearly, it shows you how to implement it to take
best advantage of it, and it has a long detailed chapter on issues of CSS
and browser compatibility.  If you do it well, you don't have to abandon
any of your users; in fact, you can be more inclusive.

Chris

On Wed, 20 Nov 2002, Michael Whang wrote:

> Hello Kathy,
>
> There are advantages and disadvantages of moving from a design
> utilizing lots of <tables> to a design that separates style from
> structure (CSS and XHTML markup).
>
> One advantage is that you can control literally hundreds of
> documents with only a few files, reducing the time required for you
> to dig through lots of markup to make edits. If you create a nested
> table design, sifting thru the markup gets to be ridiculous after
> awhile. The CSS file can control how the content is viewed on
> screen, how it is printed, how it is accessible via aural readers.
>
> Second, reducing file size by removing spacer.gifs and font tags
> reduces the overall document size in a traditonal table-based
> layout. Spacer gifs aren't large at all (1px), but when you nest
> tables in a way that allows you the flexibility you need in your
> layout, those nested table cells and rows just add to the documents
> overall file size.
>
> There are more advantages to using CSS vs <tables> but I want to
> keep this post readable and to be fair I'll include a disadvantage
> to using CSS.
>
> Using CSS will take you some development time to see how your CSS
> layout behaves in different browsers on different platform. I've
> noticed that when browsers are resized or are viewed on small
> monitors, columns that hold your content aren't flexible enough,
> meaning that content from one column overlaps another.
>
> But this issue can be a major or minor thing for you and your
> library. It depends on your site objectives and user goals.
> Obviously, you will create a negative user experience for a
> percentage of your audience still using older browsers and if you
> have 4,000 visitors a month to your library site and 12% of those
> visitors are viewing the non-styled content, then that can be
> significant.
>
> I think the issues involved here are much deeper than simply
> deciding on reformatting existing content to a standard that
> reflects our current state of technology and culture on campus and
> in industry. I think you have to carefully look at your site logs
> and determine how many of your users are currently using older
> browsers and on what platforms. This requires that you know your
> user's needs as well as the library's site objectives.
>
> Michael
>
>
> ========================
> Michael Whang
> Head of Web and Internet Services
> University Libraries Web Office
> Western Michigan University
> 1903 W. Michigan Ave.
> Kalamazoo, MI  49008-5353
> p: 269-387-5184
> e: michael.whang at wmich.edu
> =========================
>