Divs and Tables

[tefnut]

Is there a specific reason why we should use divs rather than tables, not just from a purely accessibility point of view tho is it because they download faster, are they read easier by screen readers.

Thanks

[mcskiver]

Divs are non-semantic elements, so they're handy for when you need "containers" for layout purposes, though in many cases you can use the correct elements anyway.

Tables are for tabular data, so they're best avoided for layout. Well-written non-tabled based layouts can be easier to read for screen-readers than complex table-based layouts, though in practice screen-readers have been written to interpret the old way of designing sites, so often make a good attempt at reading sites built using tables for layout.

[NogDog]

http://www.hotdesign.com/seybold/

[Robert Wellock]

Think whether a table can be linearised and still make sense and CSS has far more power with less overheads.