Tables should really be used for data that requires it e.g. number sets etc., and not for layout.
True, using tables for layout in some sites is much simpler than CSS but people who do that usually do so today because they do not know how to do it in CSS properly.
Either way, all is fine, until they start using tables within said layouts (e.g. for number sets or even more mutli-columning in subsections) and things start to get problematic. This is especially evident when they try to use the content in various sites or try to change formatting for cross-browser related issues (often best solved by having base style sheets for various browsers).
Just my experience and thoughts, ultimately use whatever is best for you, and you are comfortable with :)
Re:The Perfect 3 Column Liquid Layout
by billroberts on Tuesday June 17, 2008 @04:52PM
(#220120)
IE and FF handle column widths in tables rather differently, which can cause some problems with table based layouts. I've been round this circle recently and ended up back with a 'pure' CSS approach
Given the number of CSS hacks and extra HTML tags in exactly the right order that is necessary for most column layouts the end result is almost always less complex with a table.