CSS vs. Tables

[GeXus]

In terms of SEO, which do you find is better? Using tables or using CSS and div tags or maybe a mixture of both.

[Johan007]

It’s not really a Search Engine Optimisation issue though it will help bandwidth costs for a large site for both you and the spider.

You should look into Accessibility and compatibility with emerging technologies for further issues.

[Buskerdoo]

I think css is cleaner and shows less code and more content to the spider...for what that is worth?

I use a combo of both to get the look I want. Typically I start with css only and then add tables if needed.

[webexpertz]

first preference for the use of css and then else some thing...

what i think Div Tag are not worth full to use!!

[Web Gazelle]

With all the differnt things you can do using CSS I think one would be silly to not use CSS. I personally use both.

[etech-peter]

IMO search engines prefer CSS-based sites and are likely to score them higher in the search rankings because:

The code is cleaner and therefore more accessible to search engines
Important content can be placed at the top of the HTML document
There is a greater density of content compared to coding

Using CSS for layout is also highly advantageous for usability, as it leads to significantly faster download times.

[Johan007]

Originally Posted by etech-peter

IMO search engines prefer CSS-based sites and are likely to score them higher in the search rankings because:

The code is cleaner and therefore more accessible to search engines
Important content can be placed at the top of the HTML document
There is a greater density of content compared to coding

I agree with usability point (as well accessibility). The SE factors are not true. Google/MSN/Yahoo can spider very large pages. Now a machine is not going to look at code and say - "bloody hell i don’t want to wage through all this JS and HTML tables so I am going to penalise the site owner!" It will simply skip the table and harvest the useful content for page rank calculations later on.

CSS for layout are the what you should aim for - however other factors (time, skill level, complex designed columns for db driven sites etc..) may force you into using a table or two.

[obiztek]

Both has got their pro & cons.

I prefer cocktail as per the need

[John Scott]

I'd recommend CSS, and disallowing the css file in the robots.txt. You can do whatever you want with font size, color, etc, and the spiders never know it.