Web Content Accesibility Guidelines
W3C Standard 6, Guideline 3 - Use markup and style sheets and do so properly
The use and misuse of markup and style sheets is becoming difficult to remember when and where each is appropriate. Some developers are still trying to use certain ways to create their pages just because older browsers need that. There are many pages still out in the web that misuse markup to make pages look the way the designer wants it. Style sheets are the correct way to create the format desired. But there is also times where markup is needed and allowed. When a developer needs to build a page with a certain markup element, at times it is appropriate. The developer needs to be aware that he/she may be cutting out a small percentage of his audience.
Markup can be a great tool when it is harnassed correctly. This guideline shows that markup is appropriate to use instead of images. Images, as in Guideline 1, aren't as effective as text. Markup makes the text more useable. Style sheets should be used to control the build and layout of the page, not the use of markup elements (ex. font sizes and layouts). Another effective use of style sheets is knowing when to use relative and absolute values in site creation. Because of the variety of people, browers, and internet accessibility, relative values have become much more user friendly to the large differences in the different environments around. A relative unit such as 1em is more versatile than 1cm because each user can change the actual value that an em represents. 1cm is absolute and will not change.
I believe a good example of a site that has made a mistake by using an alternative to a style sheet format is: Shopping.com. This site is a very generic site that has a lot to offer. It does use many forms of style sheet practices and markup elements in their correct form, but I believe they may have used a table to form a layout instead of using a style sheet. The middle area where items are listed is created with a table. Normally one would want to use style sheets to place the format and not use tables. Some programs out there cannot render tables correctly or read them correctly. I believe this is an example of what not to do for layout design.
