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Dixie from Somewhere Over The Rainbow (Contact Member) -

Does using tables make a site load more slowly? I know some people believe it does but I always just assumed that was if a table was done incorrectly. If it really does slow a site down, is there a good alternative to using tables?

Comment #1 Nancy from Los Angeles (Contact Member) -

Using tables does not affect the speed a page loads.

HOWEVER, it MIGHT appear to slow down the loading. Many browers load the entire table before showing anything.

Comment #2 rowena105 from Canada, Earth (Contact Member) -

That's my take on the situation as well. Tables being used will always load it all before it shows. Why don't you try Excel and set it up that way and transfer it into the site. This might speed things up a little more for you if you find it too slow.

Comment #3 Dixie from Somewhere Over The Rainbow (Contact Member) -

If they don't really cause sites to load slowly, then why do so many people seem to dislike using them?

Comment #4 Nancy from Los Angeles (Contact Member) -

Because they can be tedious to create and because people may not see your page until it has loaded competely (which is the appareance of it loading slowly).

Comment #5 WebRanger from Mexico (Contact Member) -

If you are using heavy images then it will slow the process down. A table of 9 images has a lot of density to shove through the pipe.

That's why most people use text alone. Then link that text to other landing pages per topic.

Comment #6 SomeoneAwful from The World (Contact Member) -

Somebody told me that tables are bad for SEO; I'm not sure how it is, but that's what someone told me (who was good with SEO) so I don't do it.

Comment #7 Dixie from Somewhere Over The Rainbow (Contact Member) -

Sometimes tables just make a page look more organized though. I guess as long as they're not huge and complicated maybe they're not too bad? And would they interfere with the SEO for the whole page or just what was contained within that table?

Comment #8 jess from The mighty earth (Contact Member) -

I don't believe tables make any difference to SEO. Frames sure can, but tables are merely a way of orgnizing data visually and whether you do it via HTML tables or CSS, the content is the same and it's all on the same page so search engine spiders shouldn't care either way.

Comment #9 Dell from Philippines (Contact Member) -

it was not really a rule of thumb "not to use a table" but i still advice to start practicing div tag and css combination. i still use tables in displaying reports and forms but never in overall design layout.

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