Is it still true, to make cross broswer layouts for desktop browsers using table+css is easier then div+css?

Question

My one of web designer friend still making sites with table but he use css very nicely and I also use css nicely but with <div> and i face cross browser problem in layout more than my friend.

and i given some reason to my friend about cons of <table>. read my whole discussion with friend?

I - you site will be problematic with screen reader

My friend - OK, but i never got any call from any client regarding this.

I - you will devote more time to make any changes in layout, if changes comes from client

My friend - I don't think so, but if it is then show me how can i save time with <div>?

I - your sites will not work well with search engine.

My friend - it's not true. I've made many site and no problem with any site or client regarding this

I - layout is old way, non w3c and non standard way.

My friend - what is old and what is new, Who is W3C i don't know, What is standard? Whatever i make works in all browsers, it's enough for me and my client will not pay for standard and W3C guidelines rules

I - Your site will not work in mobile browsers

My friend - No problem for me, my client don't care about mobile phone

I - Your sites are not accessible?

My Friend - What do u mean not accessible? Whatever i make works in all browsers. my any client never asked about accessibility

I - You will not get more work in future, with table?

My friend - OK, no problem when clients will not accept site with table then i will learn about div based layouts in future.

My questions?

• Is it still true, to make cross browser layouts for desktop browsers using table+css is easier then div+css?
• What is the benefit for developer to use DIV+CSS layout in place of <table> layouts if client would not mind if i use ?

Answer 1

Personally I find it much easier to think about the layout in terms of independent chunks rather than a table where the cells are tightly coupled to each other and dependent on each other. Having used both methods extensively, divs are easier when you've learnt about them.

Tables are a nightmare to maintain, too. If you want to add a column you need to make sure other rows aren't affected. Even with CSS, the HTML for tables is still very bloated and difficult to understand "at a glance" (particularly with nested tables).

I'd be surprised if tables really are a huge problem with screen readers (one would hope the software is smart enough to deal with all types of web pages). However, you should take all reasonable steps to make sure the site is accessibility to all, since it's the law.

Mobile phones can display tables fine. The only problem here is if you want to create a separate mobile stylesheet it's virtually impossible to remove the column format.

Finally for SEO, it makes no difference. SEs say time and again that the validity of code makes no difference.