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Improve Web Site Functionality with Cascading Style Sheets

Probably the most significant advantage CSS has over HTML is that it allows you to separate content from presentation. CSS still uses tags, but their relationship with the style sheets makes them

far more powerful than HTML tags. They denote everything from position to design to interactive functions like rollovers.

Another benefit of CSS is that it can help improve your search engine rankings. Because its page code is cleaner and faster, and because the actual content of the page is placed higher in CSS-built pages, it's easier for search engines to decipher them. CSS also allows you to be more explicit about the exact nature of the content. For example, you could create a tag called "address" or "employees." Be sure to read What Is Search Engine Optimization? for more information on this topic.

Because content and markup are so effectively segregated in CSS sites, you can make them display in a range of formats just by referencing a different style sheet. For example, you can create a style sheet exclusively for print format, or even for cell phones.


Internet Marketing: Why Metatags Are Important
Interview with Lee Odden, AllBusiness.com's Internet marketing advisor.