Don’t let the title mislead you, I still use divs WAY more that tables, but c’mon, you can’t always hate on tables. Here’s why:

Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah

Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah

This table only looks funny because I wrapped it in a div.

Sometimes you just need to quickly split up some content, and you don’t feel like going through the process of editing CSS and using DIVs to get your point across.

Here’s when I use <DIV>

Client Work. If I am designing a site for someone else (friend, client, whatever), I want to make sure that it is up to par with the latest web standards. I will use divs if want to ensure that the layout doesn’t break or look strange in different browsers. This is a no-brainer people, let’s move on.

Here’s when I use <tables>

Affiliate landing pages, in blog posts, etc… Anything that requires a quick turnaround, little SEO, and sharp alignment. Almost any page that I’m going to drive PPC traffic to will likely have some tables (ie. review sites). Usually, if I have to cut up an image in Fireworks, I’ll export it with tables, because the export to css function in fireworks is crap at best. Again, moving on…

Here’s Why I Don’t Care

Designers and wanna-be designers get caught up in industry hype, so if a single authoritative source talks bad about something (search Google for no!spec if you want to see what I’m talking about), then every lemming on the interwebbernet wants to follow suit. People have been dropping design elements like tables for years since there is a newer, better, way to do it. Just because there’s a new way to do something doesn’t mean that the old way sucks, and that it should be completely abandoned. I’ll probably always use tables until they are no longer supported by browsers.

Here’s a great workaround if you are a design nazi

Well, if you’re a design nazi, and you refuse to use a table NO MATTER WHAT, then you probably won’t like this idea either, but whatever.. You can use some CSS framework like blueprintcss or the 960 grid system. With these frameworks, you can base entire designs around predetermined widths and columns. Super easy, I won’t go into detail. Just go to their websites for more info:

• http://960.gs/
• http://www.blueprintcss.org/
• http://elasticss.com/

I know I didn’t really hit you with a strong argument here, it’s more about why I use what I use, and when I use it. If you are intelligent with your designs, and you know how the site will be used, and you are realistic about the end result, you can find a use for anything, including a table.

I know what you’re thinking.. Another post about Artisteer.. Well, ok, so, yes… I am writing another post about Artisteer. A lot has changed since my last post about Artisteer, “Artisteer for Mac is now available“, the free trial is still going on, and more people are using Artisteer thanks to your’s truly (seriously, I have made hundreds of people like you Artisteer users thanks to my posts and reviews).

So, if you are on the fence about this product, read one of my reviews listed below. They may change your mind.

• Artisteer – Buy it, Don’t Steal it!
• Artisteer for Mac is Now Available
• Artisteer Home vs Artisteer Professional – An Artisteer Review
• Artisteer Review – Theme Generator
• Buy Artisteer

As always, please feel free to ask any questions. DO NOT ASK ME ABOUT OBTAINING PIRATED COPIES OR EXPORTING YOUR DEMO FILES!!!

Yes, it’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for, drum roll please… Artisteer is available in BETA for Mac.

Try Artisteer for FREE – Click Here

If you are not familiar with Artisteer,  here’s a brief description of the world’s easiest web design platform:

Artisteer is the best software for people who want to design websites, but do not have any experience doing so. If you know how to use Microsoft Word, then you will know how to use Artisteer. All of the templates that you design are easily exported to: HTML, WordPress, Joomla, Blogger, and several other platforms. You can literally sit down and have a multi-platform website designed in less than 5 minutes. It’s every wanabe designer’s dream, so try it out for free.

Here’s what the interface looks like:

As you can see, it’s very simple to use. So have at it! Download your free trial today!

I don’t think it’s any big mystery that Chin is a communist country, but it seems like Google has hit them pretty hard by pulling out of the Chinese market. They sent a bunch of news outlets their reporting guidelines, and damn, they are strict.

Since Google made the announcement, other companies are pullin in the ropes also. Godaddy stopped selling china domains last week. Some crazy stuff. I just hope it doesn’t do anything to jeopardize our relationship with China on a political level.

Anyways, that’s just my 2 cents. I don’t really care, I just thought this was an interesting topic. PEACE!

Click on the image to view the actual site

I’m not usually one to brag about a design that I didn’t do, but today, I’ll make a small exception.

One of my favorite sites on the web is http://1800recycling.com.It is probably the most informative green sites on the web. They have amazing writers who know what they’re talking about, and they post topics in a way that is easy to understand, so I always look forward to read the next days posts. Although it’s one of my top sites online, it had some pitfalls in the past that they fixed with this new design and database increase.

One of the problems that I always faced with the site was the lack of usability. I always wanted to dive deeper into the site, but the site’s navigation would only take me so far, and since they didn’t have a sitemap, there wasn’t another way for me to look around. I was pretty much bound to the 5 available pages of the site.

Needless to say, they fixed the issue 110%. Not only did they add a sitemap, they also added several RSS feeds and categorized content pages. Navigation on the site is a breeze, and now I can finally read some of the older content that I akways wanted to look at.

I can’t give the designer of this new layout enough kudos. Go see for yourself: http://www.1800recycling.com.