The thing about computer languages is that there is some weird heaviness on the actual work involved. People are scared of by codes and although they see the power, they just can't seem to get going because they have no idea where to start.

That is where training comes in. And of course, fun training. You need to be taken by hand and shown exactly what you need to do, where you need to do it, and when you need to take the right action.

The funny thing about CSS is that it allows you to create your website in the fraction of the time when you would do it using tables. It's hard to believe, but still after all these years of promotion for CSS people (and companies!) still heavily rely on tables for layout. They have no idea that they are simply wasting time on old techniques that will be useless in a matter of time.

So where do you need to pay attention on when you are looking for a CSS Guide?

1. The Teacher

The number one thing you need to be sure of is that your teacher knows where he or she is talking about. Why is he or she teaching about Cascading Stylesheet, because they need to from their boss? Because they think they can teach, no matter the subject?

Think of that, how many teachers are only "teaching" stuff, and never practice it their own? Ask yourself "why" are you teaching you me this. Are you the best in the field? Where did you get your knowledge from?

2. Teaching Style

So the teacher may be a great person, has all the required skills, has a passion for the subject and knows about everything of it. But can your teacher deliver? Does he or she KNOW how to explain things? How to take you by hand and show you step-by-step how things work?

Is it fun to follow along with the teacher? CSS is one of those topics that can become boring easily when it's only discussed in a technical way. Make sure you know what you can expect!

An even more important thing is cutting right to the case. You don't want to end up with all kind of knowledge that you will never use in practice. It simply isn't useful to learn every possible css style there is when you just get started. And this brings us to the third point you need to pay attention on when you are looking for a css guide.

3. Teaching / learning speed

Can you keep up with the course? Does your teacher decide the speed, or do you? Of course a great way to follow a course is one that allows you to define your own speed. Home study courses and guides are wonderful for that.

4. Delivery

How is your guide delivered? Are you somebody that likes to read, follow along with a training video or both? Decide what you like, training videos are great, because they allow you to follow along in a real life situation. This means hands on practice, which is exactly what you need if you want to become good in CSS.

5. Contents

Last but not least, content. What is discussed in the guide? What is marked as important? Do you get a total reference, or do you know you don't need that, that the real thing you need is a hands on course with day-to-day subjects? Decide what you want to know, just the basics, how to create full layouts, or just how to create a menu using 100% CSS.

It's up to you now, decide what you need, you know how important the 5 above points are, and where you need to pay attention on. And one last tip, make sure you get some preview videos or sample chapter before following any course, it can save you a lot of time and money at the same time.

Hilco van der Meer
CSS Expert

There are a number of different browsers that you must compensate for when designing your webpage's in any format (CSS, tables etc.), some of the most common browsers are : Internet Explorer 6/ 7, Firefox and Safari. The main issues that arise with CSS design is that all browsers interpret CSS differently, for example Firefox does not understand some of the CSS commands that Internet Explorer does and vice a versa.

One of the main issues I have found when designing with CSS is a problem with margins in Internet Explorer 6. I found that when using a float on a div tag that also had a margin set, the margin would actually double and then knock the whole pages layout out. After numerous late nights and an insane amount of coffee I finally found a solution to this double margin bug. By inserting a simple line of code the double margin no longer double ! That solution is as follows, by adding this line of code to your CSS div tag 'display: inline'.

Another problem I have found with CSS in Internet Explorer 6 is a problem when trying to define a div tag that has a smaller size than the base font size. This problem again can be fixed with a simple line of code this time all we need to add is the following line of code to the div tag: 'font-size:0px'. There is also another solution to this problem that should have the same effect, because the div tag auto stretches to compensate for content overflow adding 'overflow: hidden' should also resolve the problem.

Unfortunately I have been unable to cover all of the cross browser issues that you may experience when designing with CSS, but most of the problems that you may encounter can be resolved pretty easily with simple trial and error. Happy designing!

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