I’ve Embraced Hybrid Layouts

I’ve Embraced Hybrid Layouts

I think there are steps to learning web design.

  • You learn a lot, but understand very little
  • You learn a lot, and things start to click
  • You learn a lot, and you understand a little bit more

Yeah that’s right there’s no 4th “YOU MASTER HTML” because frankly, I don’t think it’s possible. Even if you learn HTML fluently, you’ll still be pulling out your hair trying to make your code render properly in older browsers. Hell even if your site is aligned wrong or your text has extra breaks, that is enough to bother me. Should it? Probably not – but regardless it does.

You learn that your HTML elements should be positioned with CSS and divisions, you learn that floating a div is as simple as understanding your floats and clears.  You also learn that Tables are used for tabular data and that tables are evil monsters that noone should ever use for layout.

This post has nothing to do with arguing about tables or divs. I’m way past that point. I used to get on my soapbox and laugh at those stupid enough to use tables for layout. Silly me.

I’ve arrived at the conclusion that the best way to accomplish my layouts are with a mixture of both tables and divs. Why? Well I’m sick of  having to float a div to place another div next to it, then watching it horribly degrade in older browsers.

Who cares about older browsers? I do. So do my clients. If they get a complaint that a user can’t properly see the site in an older version of IE guess who he’s going to call and question?

According to my Analytics, 18% of my users have been “depreciated”. Why should i serve HTML that I know won’t render properly, and why should I create hack upon hack upon hack to make my site work for them? Should I “hack” my site to make it fit the W3C standards?

That’s counter-intuitive. I’ve arrived at the point where I don’t see websites from a div/table perspective, but rather seeing them from a logistical sense. If I can code a site to render the same way in every browser with more than 1% share, I’m going to do that. Standards or none.

/End rant

P.S. Some Interesting Sites I’ve come across

And from out in left field: Baby Nursing Blog

(I’m having a kid soon so I’ve been researching breastfeeding)

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