HTML Tables

Learn HTML Tables
HTML tables are an important part of the HTML specification. They allow you to display tabular data on web pages in a very clear and uniform way. This document will teach you how to build an HTML table from scratch, standard uses for tables, the table tags and attributes, and ways in which HTML tables are misused. If you want to learn HTML tables, this article is a great place to start. It covers the basics through advanced styling and even using tables for layout.

Learn How to Build an HTML Table
There are only a few tags you need to know to build a basic table. This article will show you how to build a basic table and then take you through the steps to make the table even more amazing.

Don't Use Tables for Layout
Tables for layout are a technique from the 1990s when designers had no other option than to use tables to get complex and interesting layouts. But CSS offers so much more now. Why are you still reluctant to learn CSS for layout?

Changing the Border Space in Tables
The CSS2 border-spacing property is not used a lot by designers, but it can be very helpful in creating a table that is more easy to read because the borders are spaced appropriately. This four-page article explains how to use the CSS2 border-spacing property and shows images of what it does.

How can I include one table inside another?
It's easy to include one HTML table inside another table.

What do the HTML table attributes colspan and rowspan do?
Learn how to make your table cells span multiple columns and rows.

Tables Articles
There are many articles on this site on tables and how to use them. Learn how to build tables and use them effectively in both HTML and XHTML.

Do You Really Need that Table?
When building a web page are you making it as simple as you can? There are good reasons for avoiding complexity if you don't need it. Tables add unnecessary complexity, and you should only use them for tabular data.

How do I set an image as a background for a table?
It's easy to set a background image on a table so that the table contents display above the image.

How to Add an HTML Table with Dreamweaver 8
It's easy to add tables using Dreamweaver.

Using HTML Tables - Attributes
HTML5 reduces the number of attributes on the TABLE element to just one: border. But there are many other attributes you can use in HTML 4.01 and even some attributes that are browser-specific. This article explains how to use the attributes of the HTML TABLE element.

HTML Table Tags That are Often Forgotten
Learn how to use some of the less commonly used table elements like CAPTION, THEAD, TFOOT, and TBODY as well as a useful attribute: summary. This first page of the article explains how to use the CAPTION element.

Getting Rid of Spaces in HTML Tables
HTML tables are often used for layout, but if you're not careful, that pretty picture held together by tables will be all spaced out.

Turn on the Borders When Testing Tables
Just because your final design doesn't use borders on a table doesn't mean you can't use them while you're building it. Learn this simple trick to make editing tables a snap, even in a text editor.

Testing HTML Tables Makes for Better HTML Tables
It's a good idea to test all web pages before you launch, but tables can be tricky, so if you test nothing else, you should test your pages with tables to make sure they display correctly. This goes doubly if you use tables for layout.

Simple Way to Center a Table Using CSS
Using CSS it's easy to center a table within the Web page.

Don’t Rely on Web Browsers to Style Your TH Tags
Many browsers have default styles they add to the TH tag. But you shouldn't rely on them. instead you should use CSS to get your TH tags to look exactly how you want them to.

TR Tag
An explanation of the HTML table tag TR.

TH Tag
The TH tag defines the contents of table header cells.

How to Center Text in a Table Cell
Centering text inside table cells is done the same as you would center text in any other element on your web page.

How to Add Internal Lines in a Table
When you use CSS to add borders to tables, it only adds the border around the outside of the table. If you want to add internal lines, you need to add borders to the interior CSS elements. Or you can use the HR tag to add lines inside individual cells. Learn how to add internal lines inside a table with CSS.

TD Tag
The TD tag defines the contents of table cells.

THEAD Tag
An explanation of the HTML table tag THEAD.

border Attribute for TABLE
Learn about the border attribute for the TABLE tag

TFOOT Tag
An explanation of the HTML table tag TFOOT.

TBODY Tag
An explanation of the HTML table tag TBODY.

COLGROUP Tag
The colgroup tag creates and defines an explicit column group in an HTML table.

HTML5 and Tables for Layout
HTML5 changes the specification to allow tables be used for layout and presentation. Learn how you can define your table as a layout table or a data table.

Don’t Use Nested Tables
Nested tables are tables that enclose other tables. But by putting one table inside another, you slow the download time of the entire page. Learn why you shouldn't use nested tables in your web page documents and how to convert nested tables to other, faster loading, elements.