Chapter7.Advanced Page Formatting Using Style Sheets | Macromedia Dreamweaver 8 Unleashed

Chapter 7. Advanced Page Formatting Using Style Sheets

IN THIS CHAPTER

Introduction to CSS
CSS versus HTML
Designing CSS Styles Using Classes
Style Categories
Applying Styles
Designing CSS Styles by Redefining HTML Tags
Working with Pseudo-Classes
Designing CSS Styles by Using IDs
CSS Validation
Designing Time Style Sheets
Built-in CSS Page Designs

As you have seen, HTML is extremely restrictive when it comes to web page formatting, but this is by no means a fault of the language. Unfortunately, many beginning developers who are expert designers in the print industry jump to web development thinking that WYSIWYG editors function much the same way as popular print design programs like InDesign and Quark. They think visually rather than practically, which results in "hacked" code, mediocre page structures, and in general, poorly designed pages that leave many people with a sour attitude towards web development and HTML in general.

A better solution is available. Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) provide what many designers and developers have asked for over the years: more control, more flexibility, and more pizzazz to the overall look of their pages. How? CSS has endless support for font styles, sizes, and weights. It supports tracking, leading, text indenting, and paragraph spacing. Tables don't have to have cell padding and cell spacing around the entire table; instead, tables can contain cell padding and spacing on just one side of the table, independent of the other sides. Form elements can contain background colors, borders, and styles. With CSS, you can use your own custom images for bullets. Additionally, you can control the structure of your page using various positioning attributes exposed through CSS. CSS comes with all this, as well as various extensions that allow you to set custom cursors, an assortment of filters, and increasing browser support for the newest CSS specifications. CSS makes a huge difference in the way developers create web pages now and in the future.