Question about css structure and layout

[Bill]

I'm learning web design and have a few questions.

I started out with Front Page 2003 and then discovered css. Front Page has
some support but it's all inline. I jumped to Dreamweaver which supports
css separete sheets but seems to prefer putting the css code in directly on
the page. Seems to me that other than some one time only section that most
if not all of the css code should be on a seperate sheet, after all isn't
that the reason for css in the first place, to seperate content from style??

I guess what I'm asking is what is the correct way to apply css to a web
page. Is it just personal preference or is there a more technically correct
way. Mainly what I'm intested in is having minimum non-content on the html
page so that if it is 'viewed' with something other than a graphical
browser, something like a browser that 'speaks' the page for a blind person,
it still can get the basic info across. Does anyone know how those kind of
browsers handle inline or on page css code??

Another question I have is how I should handle the content itself. Is there
anything out there that can tell me what should be an h1 vs h2, etc.... I
mean is it top down like an outline or do the tags h1,h2,h3, etc just really
relate to the items look. I was wondering if they made a difference with
different browsers.

One last question on css. If I'm looking for 'pure' content in the html
code should I really be using <br> to break up content in a paragraph or
would it be more correct to use a div with a setting in the style sheet?

Inquiring minds want to know.....

Bill

 

[Neredbojias]

I'm learning web design and have a few questions.

I started out with Front Page 2003 and then discovered css. Front
Page has some support but it's all inline. I jumped to Dreamweaver
which supports css separete sheets but seems to prefer putting the css
code in directly on the page. Seems to me that other than some one
time only section that most if not all of the css code should be on a
seperate sheet, after all isn't that the reason for css in the first
place, to seperate content from style??

The advantage to separate style sheets is that they can apply to multiple
pages. Head-section-ensconced css is not wrong but it may not be optimal
for a particular situation. Inline css is not wrong, either, but should
probably be avoided where possible in the interests of clarity and
utility.

I guess what I'm asking is what is the correct way to apply css to a
web page. Is it just personal preference or is there a more
technically correct way. Mainly what I'm intested in is having
minimum non-content on the html page so that if it is 'viewed' with
something other than a graphical browser, something like a browser
that 'speaks' the page for a blind person, it still can get the basic
info across. Does anyone know how those kind of browsers handle
inline or on page css code??

See above.

Another question I have is how I should handle the content itself. Is
there anything out there that can tell me what should be an h1 vs h2,
etc.... I mean is it top down like an outline or do the tags
h1,h2,h3, etc just really relate to the items look. I was wondering
if they made a difference with different browsers.

The more semantically-correct the markup, the better it is. Using <hn>
tags can be a bit of an art but certainly one that is intuitively easy to
master.

 

[kchayka]

anything out there that can tell me what should be an h1 vs h2, etc....

For a good HTML 4 reference, see

is it top down like an outline or do the tags h1,h2,h3, etc just really
relate to the items look.

Generally speaking, it is more like an outline. Looks aren't relevant,
since they can easily be changed with CSS.

should I really be using <br> to break up content in a paragraph or
would it be more correct to use a div with a setting in the style sheet?

It would be more correct to use paragraph markup for paragraphs.
IOW, <p>

Don't use <div> (or <span>) when there is a more appropriate element for
the particular job.