Before we talk about tables, let's dispel the common answer that people will give you when you mention tables. That answer is "Tables are not for content, they are for tabular data. That sounds like a really good reason not to use them then, doesn't it. I mean they are for tabular data and not for content. But that answer just isn't enough.

The ultimate authority in web design/development standards is the W3C. (http://www.w3.org) This is what they have to say. "The HTML table model allows authors to arrange data -- text, preformatted text, images, links, forms, form fields, other tables, etc. -- into rows and columns of cells." Did you see that "Tables allow authors to arrange text" So, what about "tables are only for tabular data". First, what is tabular data? It is "Data maintained in a tabular form" The key word in that definition is data. The table model is not developed as a way for Web authors to manipulate the layout of a Web page or change how it will look with either cells, borders, or background colors. A good definition of data for our purposes is: "Factual information, especially information organized for analysis or used to reason or make decisions."

However, that definition is more than we really need for Web page development. I like to think of it in this way: