HTML Layout
Webpage layout is crucial for enhancing the appearance of your website.
Please design your webpage layout carefully.
Online Examples
Web Layout Using <div> Elements
Web Layout Using <table> Elements
Website Layout
Most websites arrange content into multiple columns (like magazines or newspapers).
Most websites can create multi-column layouts using <div> or <table> elements. CSS is used for positioning elements or creating backgrounds and colorful appearances for the page.
| | Although we can use the HTML table tag to design attractive layouts, the table tag is not recommended for use as a layout tool - tables are not layout tools. | | --- | --- |
HTML Layout - Using <div> Elements
The div element is a block-level element used to group HTML elements.
The following example uses five div elements to create a multi-column layout:
Example
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<title>tutorialpro.org(tutorialpro.org)</title>
</head>
<body>
<div id="container" style="width:500px">
<div id="header" style="background-color:#FFA500;">
<h1 style="margin-bottom:0;">Main Web Title</h1></div>
<div id="menu" style="background-color:#FFD700;height:200px;width:100px;float:left;">
<b>Menu</b><br>
HTML<br>
CSS<br>
JavaScript</div>
<div id="content" style="background-color:#EEEEEE;height:200px;width:400px;float:left;">
Content goes here</div>
<div id="footer" style="background-color:#FFA500;clear:both;text-align:center;">
Copyright © tutorialpro.org</div>
</div>
</body>
</html>
The HTML code above will produce the following result:
HTML Layout - Using Tables
Using the HTML <table> tag is an easy way to create a layout.
Most sites can create multi-column layouts using <div> or <table> elements. CSS is used for positioning elements or creating backgrounds and colorful appearances for the page.
| | Even though you can use HTML tables to create attractive layouts, the purpose of tables is to present tabular data - tables are not layout tools! | | --- | --- |
The following example uses a three-row, two-column table - the first and last rows use the colspan attribute to span two columns:
Example
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<title>tutorialpro.org(tutorialpro.org)</title>
</head>
<body>
<table width="500" border="0">
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="background-color:#FFA500;">
<h1>Main Web Title</h1>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background-color:#FFD700;width:100px;">
<b>Menu</b><br>
HTML<br>
CSS<br>
JavaScript
</td>
<td style="background-color:#eeeeee;height:200px;width:400px;">
Content goes here</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" style="background-color:#FFA500;text-align:center;">
Copyright © tutorialpro.org</td>
</tr>
</table>
</body>
</html>
The HTML code above will produce the following result:
HTML Layout - Useful Tips
Tip: One of the biggest advantages of using CSS is that if you store CSS code in an external stylesheet, your site becomes easier to maintain. By editing a single file, you can change the layout of all pages. To learn more about CSS, please visit our CSS Tutorial.
Tip: Creating advanced layouts can be very time-consuming, so using templates is a quick option. You can find many free website templates through search engines (you can use these pre-built website layouts and optimize them).
HTML Layout Tags
Tag | Description |
---|---|
<div> | Defines a section in a document, block-level |
<span> | Defines a span, used to group inline elements in a document |