this web design mess...
Out of context: Reply #24
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- markeebee0
Stick it out - I can honestly say that I don't think there's ever been a better time to get into HTML/CSS design/coding. If you learn and write proper, semantic HTML and valid CSS, these days your designs will generally 'just work' in all the major modern browsers.
For some reason, people seem to think that when we used tables for layout everything was somehow easy and perfect; I can remember a time when it was near impossible to get a design to look even remotely similar in IE5 and Netscape 4.7 (shudder) without just giving up and using a massive image map...
I agree that it's tricky at first, because there's a lot to know (like the aforementioned browser bugs/idiosyncrasies), and there are some things that are a bit counter-intuitive to designers (like floats), but it's definitely worth the effort to understand it properly rather than just getting Dreamweaver or similar to do all the work for you.
Also, I have to say:
"...note that anointing your iPhone with oil and smashing it on the floor with your right heel will invoke Float, God of Layouts. You may ask, but not always receive correct advice from him."
Excellent. Should be in the CSS spec.