Some questions

[Mynscu]

First of all Hello everyone. I'm pretty much new in web designing. I read the html/xhtml and css tutorials but they're not yet quite clear in my head so i'd apreciate some help 1. What's the best way to make a certain template for a site? For example I want to make a site with a picture on the top, then a horizontal navigation bar under it, a vertical navigation bar on the left, and in the center some space with the main content (on which I want on the top to have another 2 boxes that will contain for example links to the lastest news and latest forum posts). I don't need a code for this template, I just need someone to tell me what exactly should I use to structure all this. Tables work?, can/should I do it only with div?, frames?2. Here's a perfect example of what i meant at question number 1: <<...>> So, looking at this site, and considering the answer that you gave at question no.1, how do I add those images as borders to the site. you can see he has image borders around all the sections, different type, different size. What's the method used for making them.I tried to look at the site's source but it's kinda overwhelming and I know there are a lot of people on this forum that can give me a simpler explanation, like for a starting "designer" Thanks

[justsomeguy]

You will have a far easier time using tables to make it look like you want in every browser with minimal effort, but a lot of people will tell you to use divs for conceptual reasons. If you can make a layout like that with divs that looks the same in all browsers, more power to you. But the image borders will also be much easier with a table, a box with images for borders is basically a 3x3 table with the center cell being large (and holding the content) and the cells on the edge showing the images as background images.

[Mynscu]

Sweet info man, thank you very much Unfortunately you didn't get rid of me, some questions appeared from your advices. First, what do you actually mean by "conceptual reasons" Does it mean that i can do more with divs if I plan to add more features and stuff to the site? And second, what's the equivalent of the 3x3 table in divs? better said, how will i be able to insert those borders with divs? .Code or simple explanation would be great Thanks

[aspnetguy]

using divs instead of tables can be easier to read (for spiders and people) and usually results in a smaller file size.Honestly it can be frustrating understanding div layouts and the many issues that exist in making them cros browser friendly, but once you get a good grasp of that they aren't that hard. I find them just as easy to make as table layouts but struggled early on.I have heard it said that a div layout will load faster than a table layout but I do not know how accurate that is.

[justsomeguy]

And second, what's the equivalent of the 3x3 table in divs? better said, how will i be able to insert those borders with divs? .Code or simple explanation would be great

I've never actually done it myself, when I was looking for how to do it I came across this site:http://alistapart.com/articles/customcorners/That sort of brought me to the conclusion that I would be sticking with my lovely tables until browser compatibility permits things like this to be a little more logical, or at least look correct. Granted, their layout does look good, but it's not because of divs. I can duplicate what they have for their 'step 6' example with tables, and even go one step farther and have it work correctly for all screen sizes.But there are advantages to the divs, one might be that they use fewer images, and the markup is definately smaller in size. The table layout would use up to 9 images, assuming the content has a background. But, on the other hand, one of the div images is huge.But, I welcome other people's insights or experiences, if people have had better experience doing things like this with divs then I have, speak up.

[Mynscu]

Thanks again for the advice / link Took me about half an hour to almost completely understand all the steps and it definately let me the impression it's way harder than with tables. Also the IE6 bug makes it even harder.So considering I'm just starting this, I'll have a go with tables and maybe when I am more confident in my html/css skills i'll give it a go.Thanks for the advices guys.

[scott100]

But, I welcome other people's insights or experiences, if people have had better experience doing things like this with divs then I have, speak up.

You can do these rounded corner things withough images.Example: http://www.fireandknowledge.org/examples/r...ners_part1.htmlInstructions: http://www.fireandknowledge.org/archives/2...-images-part-1/

[justsomeguy]

Here's another way:http://www.cssplay.co.uk/menus/doors-two.htmlBut these are just for rounded corners. The first one doesn't even allow borders. If you want shadows or anything else that looks decent, you need to use images.

[lordfa9]

Do you have Macromedia Dreamweaver?if you do (and not to confuse you) its better to use a frameset.

[Mynscu]

Yes I'm using Dreamweaver. Why should I try frameset?

[aspnetguy]

you shouldn't framesets make a site slow and hard to navigate and maintain not to mention it messes up bookmarking and browser history. They should be avoided if at all possible

[justsomeguy]

I agree with that. Add poor search engine indexing and linking to the list of frame problems.