browsers and platforms.   For your consideration, Table 4-4 summarizes the pros and cons of tables and layers. If, after carefully reviewing the arguments, you're still not sure which to use for your site, tables is the safer beta crime, perhaps, but a crime of convenience. Table 4-4. Comparison of tables and layers Considerations Tables Layers Standards compliance Tables are for rows and columns of data, not page layouts. Layers are for divisions of content on a page, so they're perfect for page layouts. Stability Tables look and behave in much the same way across different browsers, devices, and platforms. Layers look and behave differently and unpredictably across different browsers, devices, and platforms. Accessibility Screen readers can easily misinterpret the logical order of the layout. Screen readers are less likely to be confused with a layers-based layout. Flexibility Tables are more reliable than layers for adventurous designs, and they work well with simple designs, too. In spite of impressive formatting options, layers do better with straightforward designs because of uneven browser support. Avoid graphical complexity when you design with layers. Dreamweaver compatibility Tables are easy to build in Dreamweaver and extremely stable. What you see is what you get. Layers are extremely easy to build in Dreamweaver but not always stable. The document window sometimes does strange things with them.             Chapter 5. Preparing Images for the Web   Comparing Image File Types Optimizing Images for the Web Naming Images for the Web Creating a Tracing Image     The images on a web site have a dual role to play. On the one hand, they're one of the most effective forms of content that you can choose to include. We in the West are the people of the picture. It's part of our language and our culture, going all the way back to those philosophical Greeks. Even Plato knew that nothing gets your point across like a well-placed image. On the other hand, images adversely affect the performance of your site. They take time to download, even in this broadband age, and your visitors are nothing if not in a hurry. That's why they're on the Web. Your site has to be fast and nimble, or your visitors won't stick around. So on the one hand, you should definitely include images on your site. On the other, you should think twice before you do. This chapter helps you to resolve a schizophrenic dichotomy or two (as far as your site is concerned) and reap the benefits of our cultural inheritance.