How important to SEO is using CSS?

**lucie29** · 23-11-08

I've built my site using nested tables as I haven't really got to grips with CSS.

See www.friendsofdating.co.uk

The code looks pretty messy cause of lack of CSS. It seems to be getting picked up ok by Google though.

Just wondering how important it is to use CSS in terms of SEO...

Any help or advice would be really appreciated

**fizzbird** · 23-11-08

Originally Posted by lucie29

Just wondering how important it is to use CSS in terms of SEO...

It makes a small difference but nothing major.

You should aim to keep as much code 'off page' as you can but look at it as a long term aspiration rather something to loose sleep over?

**accelerator** · 23-11-08

In the grand scheme of things, it's not that much of a factor. It's more important to focus on things like link building, e.g. by article writing.

Rgds

**Dave@Profitistic** · 24-11-08

I agree...

Removing the code to an off-page file will reduce the 'bloat' (i.e, unneccesary code) of the on-page code but the effects are though to be very small.

**ash** · 24-11-08

Originally Posted by accelerator

In the grand scheme of things, it's not that much of a factor. It's more important to focus on things like link building, e.g. by article writing.

Rgds

I think its important to get the basics (onsite SEO) right at the outset. These marginal factors can make all the difference in the long run, not to mention allow the search engine bots to not only spider your site quicker but also find the 'real' information on your site far easier too.

**getvisible** · 24-11-08

I don't think anything has been proven to date. But it just makes logical sense.

It also keeps bandwidth costs down and allows you to quickly change your site by just changing one file!

**adrian** · 24-11-08

I'm afraid I can't add to any of the above posts, but I would have presumed a CSS designed site was a big factor in ranking well in the search engines. Good to see from the above comments that its not that important, as most of my sites are designed (badly) using nested tables.

That being said, I want to redesign my sites and move away from nested tables. Can anyone recommend any good CSS books?

Adrian

**fizzbird** · 24-11-08

Originally Posted by adrian

That being said, I want to redesign my sites and move away from nested tables. Can anyone recommend any good CSS books?

I would recommend trying out a few templates and just experimenting. There are some great templates available nowadays and I have learnt quite a lot from just seeing how they are put together and making minor alterations.

Here's a couple of template sites I'd suggest:
Open Source Web Design - Our Favorite Web Design Templates
Download free CSS templates - Free CSS Templates

**lucie29** · 24-11-08

Thanks for response. Good to know it's not a major factor.

Thanks also for the templates - very useful.

**Brendon** · 25-11-08

Creative use of CSS can contribute more than you'd think, by allowing you to change where various items appear in the flow of the code, rather than the flow of the site. Ideally, you want textual content as close to the top of <body> as possible, followed by non-navigational links, followed by nav, headers, footers etc CSS can allow you to get the organisation right, and the look of the site as you want. These things will matter less in high competition areas, where link data drowns out other signals, but for niche sites, or longer phrases, sharp coding can greatly improve your performance