Proficient use of CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) enables web designers to create sites that:

• are quicker and easier to develop and maintain;
• download faster;
• are visually consistent;
• are more accessible;
• provide a better user experience; and
• rank better with search engines

Anyone who has become frustrated with table-based page design and/or needs the benefits and advantages provided by designing with XHTML+CSS. Students should have completed the Dreamweaver Website Development course or have equivalent knowledge prior to commencing this course.

During this 2 day course, you will learn how to:

• use CSS to control the appearance of text, images, forms, and tabular data;
• build navigation systems with CSS;
• test your CSS-based designs in different browsers;
• replace table-based page designs with CSS page designs (both fixed width and liquid);
• create a style sheet switcher that allows
  users to select the design they prefer.

The following content list is designed to provide a broad overview of the topics that will be covered in the course.

Unit 1: Intro to CSS

* Defining Styles with CSS
* CSS Selectors
* CSS Properties

Unit 2: Basic Text Styling

* Specifying font sizes and families correctly
* Controlling the appearance of hypertext links
* Styling individual words rather than paragraphs
* Specifying the line-height (leading) of text
* Indenting and centering text
* Controlling the appearance of lists (including    changing or removing bullets, using images for list    item bullets, removing list indenting, and displaying a    list horizontally)
* Removing page margins
* Adding comments to a CSS file

Unit 3: CSS and Images

* Adding borders to images
* Wrapping text around an image without using the    HTML align attribute
* Setting a background image for a page with CSS
* Positioning background images
* Creating a background image that remains stationary    when the text scrolls
* Placing text on top of an image

Unit 4: Navigation

* Replacing image-based navigation with CSS
* Using lists to create a navigation menu
* Using CSS to create rollover navigation without    images or JavaScript
* Making a horizontal menu using CSS and lists
* Creating button-like navigation using CSS

Unit 5: Tabular Data

* Adding borders to tables without using the HTML    border attribute
* Displaying table rows in alternating colors
* Changing a table row’s background color on hover

Unit 6: Forms and User Interfaces

* Styling form elements using CSS
* Applying different styles to fields in a single form
* Controlling white space and line breaks in a form
* Using different colored highlights in a select menu
* Highlighting the form field that the user clicks into

Unit 7: Browser and Device Support

* Testing a site in different browsers
* Testing for browsers on different operating systems
* Installing multiple versions of Internet Explorer in    Windows
* Hiding CSS from Netscape 4
* Hiding CSS from other browsers (the Box Model    Hack)
* Understanding Internet Explorer’s Quirks Mode
* Creating a print style sheet
* Using alternate style sheets
* Making a style sheet switcher
* Using alternate style sheets without duplicating code

Unit 8: CSS Positioning and Layout

* Deciding when to use a class and when to use an ID
* Can I make an inline element display as if it were    block-level, and vice versa
* Margins and padding in CSS
* Stopping the next element moving up when you use    float
* Aligning elements left and right without using a table
* Setting an item’s position on the page using CSS
* Cent ring a block on the page
* Creating a liquid, two-column layout with the menu    on the left, and the content on the right
* Reversing this layout and putting the menu on the    right
* Creating a fixed-width, centered, two-column layout