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CSS-Based Tables: Modern Solutions

By Smashing Editorial, December 29th, 2006 in CSS | 85 Comments | Forum

We coninue to present some of the best CSS-techniques which web-developers can always use working on their current web-project. Recently we’ve taken a look at the best css-based forms, today we present some useful techniques for displaying information in a tabular mode. In fact, tables can present data quite efficiently, particularly if you can use some sorting or filtering functions in order to improve the legibility of the text stored in the table. Furthermore, Zebra tables are becoming more and more popular, and the techniqies supposed to enhance their functionality appear on a weekly basis.

So what do we have? Let’s take a look around: over 28 modern css-based techniques in a brief overview. Links checked: May/27 2008.

Zebra Tables

Redesigning a simple table

Zebra Tables

Better Zebra Tables

Splintered striper: Enhanced Zebra Stripes

Standardista Table Sorting (A client-side JavaScript Table Sort module)

Designing Tables with Stylesheets

SortedTable instructions and examples

A CSS Styled Table by Veerle Pieters.

2 4ways: Tables with style

Sinnhafte Websites

Data Tables and Cascading Style Sheets Gallery - 78 CSS Table Designs.

Zebra Table Showdown featuring Plain DOM Scripting, Yahoo UI, Dojo, Prototype, Mochikit, mootlos, jQuery, AJS. - design67

Stripe your tables the OO way

Unobtrusive Table Sort Script (Revisited)

Brainjar.com: DHTML Table Sort

Table sorting JavaScript: Unobtrusive and with alternating row colors

Tables with further functionalities (i.e. sorting, filtering)

Replicating a tree table

Reformat the Table and Reformat the Table 2

Table not a table

CSS Style Tables Tutorial

How to create and style accessible tables - design56

Sort Table Rows with Javascript

The Table Ruler

sorttable: Make all your tables sortable

Sortable Tables (WebFX)

Sort’n’scroll Table

Unobtrusive Table Sort Script

Screenshot

Dynamic Sorting of HTML-tables via XSLT

Accessible Data Tables

Tools

Data Generator lets you generate large volumes of random, custom data (for testing purposes only).

Links and references

Accessible Data Tables
Advanced HTML Tables and CSS Tutorial
Alter Table Row Background Colors Using JavaScript
Bring on the tables: Roger Johansson explains when to use tables for presenting information on the Web.
Create tables that transform gracefully by WebAIM
Designing Data: Table structure by Jonathan Snook
Ein Herz fuer Tabellen (German) explains how to use tables efficiently and when not to use them.
How to paginate, sort and search a table with Ajax and Rails
HTML Tables best practice Presentation
Refining Data Tables by Luke Wroblewski.
Tables and CSS Tutorials by Chris Heilmann
Table Manners by Jim Byrne
Tablesorter plugin for jQuery
Table Sorting with Prototype

Books

Published in CSS, December 29th, 2006
Tags: CSS, data, javascript, tables, Tutorials

1.

Christian Watson (December 30th, 2006, 12:56 am)

This is a useful list - thanks for collecting these examples together.

However, many of the examples are more about using JavaScript to add functionality to tables (sort, filter, etc) rather than about using CSS to style them.

It might be more helpful to further categorize this list in order to make it more useful to people. For example, what are the special features of each example that make for its inclusion in the list?

As a designer, I’d rather have fewer examples with more information for each. Just my 2c.
2.

David G. Paul (December 30th, 2006, 1:55 am)

cool examples, I actually remember blogging about the forms one you did a while back - so I’ve mentioned your latest (this tables) one now as well
3.

Divya (December 30th, 2006, 8:51 am)

There is a CSS Tables Gallery out there: Link [icant.co.uk]

Has a list of styles you can use for your tables.
4.

Jesse (December 30th, 2006, 9:43 am)

Hey,

Good site and good list. Not to spam your comments or anything, but I build a script combining the zebra striping (from Jop De Klein/David F. Miller) and the sort functionality (from kryogenix.org) with a few of my own additions (disabling rows) and allowing the tables to be submitted. Definitely useful in web apps if you don’t have a full library like the YUI. It all degrades perfectly so the form will always work too. If you enjoy it and feel like adding it to your list, go for it.
5.

Guy Mc Paul (December 31st, 2006, 4:58 am)

Really a great job, as ususal. I find your lists always very precious and inspiring. Keep going like this.
By the way, happy new year.
Guy
6.

Becky (January 4th, 2007, 4:50 am)

The Standardista Table Sorting (A client-side JavaScript Table Sort module) page LOCKS UP my Firefox 1.5.0.9 on Mac OS X. A pretty annoying effect.

Nice list, otherwise.
7.

add (January 4th, 2007, 8:58 pm)

How stupid is that? Using CSS tables is like using tables for layout. It’s all about semantics…

was created for tabular data, so why not use it that way
8.

css gallery (January 6th, 2007, 2:53 am)

nice collection, I’ve added your link on my site.
9.

Alex Mos (January 31st, 2007, 7:30 am)

WOW this is a great list, great resource… I like the 6th most… thanks for sharing :)
10.

Sarah (March 9th, 2007, 10:20 pm)

This is a great article, very well laid out and very informative, thanks alot.
11.

Bob (March 26th, 2007, 4:33 pm)

Thanks for taking the time to post this. It’s amazing how much difference a little colour makes to something as simple as a table.
12.

Hostimal (June 27th, 2007, 4:06 am)

You help me, thanks great table examples.
13.

Keral Patel (July 23rd, 2007, 12:00 am)

This is really a nice collection. I did searched for CSS tables but I was shown all useless results but I was knowing that smashing magazine does have nice resources on this kind of stuff. Landed here and Dang found it the exact thing I was looking for.

Thanks a lot for the reference links.
14.

Stacy (August 15th, 2007, 9:56 pm)

Thanks for posting this, it’s amazing how much difference a couple of simple colours can make to a table
15.

Syed Balkhi (August 21st, 2007, 9:15 pm)

very helpful post.

i already made this trick in use in my new free template for phpLD script when i made another tableless template :)
16.

Nikki (October 10th, 2007, 6:17 pm)

Our whole site is CSS based and I found your insight into CSS tables (and CSS in general),both interesting and useful. Thanks Vitaly and Sven.
17.

Nouralhouda (March 28th, 2008, 4:41 am)

Merci, ce sont des excellents examples.
18.

what? (May 8th, 2008, 10:18 pm)

add wrote: “How stupid is that? Using CSS tables is like using tables for layout. It’s all about semantics…
was created for tabular data, so why not use it that way”

Less stupid than you. The examples presented clearly contain tabular data… or were your eyes closed when your looked at this page?
19.

Burclar (February 6th, 2009, 2:25 pm)

thank you great article great table designs.
20.

AmongChina (March 1st, 2009, 6:16 pm)

Really a great job,I like it! and thanks for your sharing.
21.

yourhostsearch.com (May 26th, 2009, 8:01 am)

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