HTML, CSS, and DIVS... all used in MySpace but...?

3 ⤊

HTML, CSS, and DIVS... all used in MySpace but...?

... Can the same principle be used to make a normal website?!?

i.e. Use Divs and CSS to make the frames in which HTML can be added... Or have "Divs" just been invented for MySpace?!?

2006-12-03 22:59:46 · 8 answers · asked by crafty1980 1 in Computers & Internet ➔ Programming & Design

Ok... so it's clear that Divs and CSS are the norm and yes, MySpace has taught me how to use them! Probably not to their full potential but it's still made my MySpace page look great! Now all i want to know is what HTML Editor could I use that lets me take what I've learnt already to the next level and let me make a "proper" website?!? Are there any good free HTML editors? I've been faffign with notepad but it's not really a good solution!

2006-12-04 00:08:12 · update #1

8 answers

HTML has always been the foundation of web design. However due to poor coding over the years there have been a number of issues related to website accessibility (disability browsers struggle with poorly laid out pages) that has forced DIVs and Cascading Style Sheets to the front of the industry. Over the last few years a body called W3C (http://www.w3c.org) have been campaigning to increase website accessibility and have played a key part in encouraging the latest internet browsers to support more accessible code (ie CSS).

MySpace is an extremely poorly coded website and still utilises a variety of terrible web practices - namely in its use of HTML tables - which makes it extremely difficult to customise. But web coders have realised the potential to MySpace and have produced a variety of "CSS hacks" to try to combat the problems.

In your customising of MySpace, you have probably come across certain "MySpace Codes" that allow you to turn off large chunks of the page...so that you can at a later point customise the page from scratch using CSS and DIVs. These "codes" usually start with something like:

and then...

What you are actually doing here is closing off the end of a poorly scripted HTML table...and then starting a new fresh DIV from scratch.

So in a nutshell, to answer your question:

a) If you can get your head around CSS and DIVs, the world will be your oyster when it comes to web design as these principles are the main thing holding the web together today; AND

b) NO, MySpace did not invent DIVs. MySpace has been rejected by the web design community simply because it is so terribly put together (and therefore inaccessible). The introduction of DIVs and CSS to MySpace was done by some clever designers with too much time on their hands, basically trying to reverse the effects of the MySpace bad code.

Most web designers embrace MySpace as being a great online community, but disagree with the way it is "polluting" the web with code that discriminates a large proportion of the internet community. There have been many campaigns attempting to bring MySpace into the 21st century so that it can be used by all, but so far the owners of MySpace have refused to do so. Lets hope that Google follow suit from their recent purchase of YouTube and buy MySpace and give it the overhall it deserves.

Best of luck with your web designs!

:: EDITED FOR ADDITIONAL INFO ::

There are plenty of freebie HTML editors at:

http://www.download.com

But if you're really serious about designing good websites, use the tools the Pro's use - choose Dreamweaver. You can download the 30 day trial from:

http://www.adobe.com

Of course after the 30 days its entirely up to you whether you buy the software, or whether you choose to crack it, or download it dodgily using BitTorrent, Emule or other p2p software. I of course, could never condone such things.

Best of luck again!

2006-12-03 23:37:04 · answer #1 · answered by gromitski 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋

2017-01-18 21:48:15 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋

You'll find divs on every website.

Web sites are usually made up of HTML and CSS. The CSS is the style that governs how the page looks.

CSS works by applying rules to the tags (that looks like

). Div is just one kind of tag, and it's used to group things together, for example on a myspace page.

2006-12-03 23:06:28 · answer #3 · answered by RoyF 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋

Yes, of course.

HTML is used in making webpages of a website, and it's very easy to learn, so novices on web design can learn and use HTML in quick steps. CSS is used to set how the page will look (backgrounds, colors, scrollbars, cursors, etc).

Divs are also used in webpages, but it isn't the only way to do so. Tables can also be used, but I do think that for MySpace, it's much easier to use divs rather than tables or iframes.

2006-12-03 23:55:26 · answer #4 · answered by yeorim 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋

MySpace have invented very little - if anything.

All these DIVS and such are _all_ HTML. Search the net for HTML tutorials and references - it'll all make sense once you start to research it :)

Pretty much all web content is delivered in HTML - if you want to see how other sites use it, try going to View - View Source on your browser menu.

Rawlyn.

2006-12-03 23:56:24 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋

If you know what you're doing then in my opinion Notepad is the best way to write HTML and even if you're not too confident then it is still worth persevering with.

I don't know how good HTML editors are these days, I used to find them to be a hassle.

2006-12-04 02:46:43 · answer #6 · answered by Gilligan 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋

No, all that stuff applies to websites as well. That is normal for all websites. I knew myspace would serve a purpose,lol.

2006-12-03 23:59:43 · answer #7 · answered by comn8u 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋

Yeah. Only DIVs use MySpace. It's a site for DIVVIES.

2006-12-03 23:03:15 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋