Converting Web Sites to XHTML+CSS

• Maintenance
  Documents written in XHTML+CSS are much easier to maintain than their older counterparts. Why? Because there are fewer tags messing with the display of the code. This also means that when you pass along your design to the next designer, he or she has much less to wade through to figure out how your page works.
• Speed
  Pages that are built using XHTML+CSS are much less bloated in file size. So they download faster, and that will make your readers happier.
• Fewer tables
  If you've ever had to edit someone else's design-table, you know what a huge pain it is. With XHTML+CSS, most of those design decisions are moved to the CSS style sheet, and so are much easier to read and understand.
• Bragging Rights
  Let's face it, XHTML+CSS is still fairly new, and designers that use it are closer to the cutting edge than those who don't.

• The Work Involved
  If you have a site with more than a few pages, it can take a long time to convert all the pages manually.
• My Editor Won't Do XHTML+CSS
  Most modern Web page editors will handle XHTML+CSS, so if yours won't, you should probably consider upgrading.
• It's too expensive
  If you have to go out and buy a modern Web page editor, it doesn't have to be expensive. There are even some good free editors.

If you're not interested in upgrading your Web editor and the freeware editors just don't meet your needs, you can still convert to XHTML+CSS without a lot of hassle. One of the best tools for cleaning up your HTML is HTML Tidy. This tool will actually go through your pages and output valid XHTML. Then all you need to do is design the CSS style sheet and attach it. With a good search and replace, you can add a link to a stylesheet to even a huge site in just a matter of minutes.