CSS Tutorial-Chapter Five

Introduction

Why take the time and effort to develop a CSS tutorial, when so many excellent tutorials are available both online and in books?  Why present personal preferences for tool sets used to develop CSS, HTML and validate or inquire about web pages?  Why give personal methodology to bring order out of chaos?

These questions will pray fully be answered, if not already, and will conclude our exercise in writing this CSS tutorial.  If a new advocate for using CSS and validating to WCAG/WAI and W3C/WDG standards will emerge from reading this tutorial, then applying and teaching others, we shall be pleased.  So please do drop us a note.

"I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble."-Helen Keller

Analyzing Load Time, Again

We were honestly still not totally convinced that redoing or attempting our first effort at building web pages using CSS was a real time saver, even if the tools mentioned earlier or others of equal or better worth were used.

Test1 Web Page without CSS

This test page was made without using CSS and consisted of five graphics. The "path" of each graphic was the full URL, the physical location, not a file, folder and so forth where we had uploaded the test page and graphics to our ISP.  In addition the narrative which was also on the test page indicated the font, size, color and so forth. Both tests were conducted using our FireFox browser.  Below are the results.

Test2 web page was made with CSS, also consisted of five graphics.  The "path" of each graphic was the graphic name (criteria2k).  This author associates a graphic by the web page identification in the navigation.

Test One Results Using Web Site Optimization

Note that these download times are based on the full connection rate for ISDN and T1 connections. Modem connections (56Kbps or less) are corrected by a packet loss factor of 0.7. All download times include delays due to round-trip latency with an average of 0.2 seconds per object. With 11 total objects for this page, that computes to a total lag time due to latency of 2.2 seconds. Note also that this download time calculation does not take into account delays due to XHTML parsing and rendering.

The Web Site Optimization web space is a frequent stop for webmasters or aspiring webmasters because it is one stop shopping.

 

 

With the price we pay for gasoline these days, a smart shopper lets their fingers do the walking and trying to find information on the internet super highway requires smartness too.  So when we find a web presence filled to the brim with books and previews, tweeks and examples which are worthwhile and so forth, we not only make a bookmark, but return often.

 

 

 

Test Two Results Using FireFox-Web Progress Listener Add On

Test two also indicates that web pages which use CSS load faster in a web browser.  So if web page loading speed is a consideration for you then perhaps using CSS may be for you.

When would speed be a consideration?  We have heard in one form or another "build it and they will come."

If you have built your web pages only for yourself, then speed would probably mean nothing.  If you have built to bring visitors then consider that there are hunters and gathers among those who visit web pages.  Both groups know what they are seeking, find what they are seeking and then finish.  Or given a number of alternatives for either group, will usually not wait more than a very short while for a web site to load in their browsers and then will go elsewhere.  Slow loading web pages loose visitors.  Fast loading web pages are apt to gain visitors.