[thelist] arguments pro css & xhtml / con tables

[Andrew Kamm]

> speed? ease of update (primary CSS stylesheet), less convoluted pages,
> SEO, accessibility, future standards, etc?

I've found it best to not even really go there with the clients... they tend
to glaze over when I discuss benefits of how I code.  Their number one
concern (usually) is bringing income into there business. If it looks good
to them and their users don't complain about it looking funny in their
browser they are happy. A 'validated XHTML' graphic at the bottom of their
page probably won't do much to add value to the sale for them.

On the other hand -- we know the benefits of doing these things, so it's
just part of how we work. When they bring up SEO, mention how the site is
optimized for it; when they bring up updates let them know they are
inexpensive because of how you will set their site setup. You needn't ever
mention a web-related acronym.

Bringing up table-based layout vs. CSS layout will probably just confuse
most clients unless they are the "I've done this in FrontPage and it only
took me a couple hours why are you charging so much" type. Then you might
need to drop the hammer and let them know what's up. The reasons you
mentioned are perfect for that.

-- 
Andrew Kamm