TechieClues

How to Create Quality Articles With Inline CSS

When I write an article -- or any web page, for that matter -- I like to begin with a basic XHTML document I know contains valid code. I copy/paste the basic document into a text editor, write the content, and then style the content for display with CSS. As a final step before publishing an article, I always validate the document at W3C to insure that the code is error free.

When I create a new article, I can often leverage previous work I have done by reusing already developed and tested code and CSS styling. This is particularly true when using inline CSS: I can copy the CSS properties and values I need from existing style sheets and simply paste them into the new article's HTML inline CSS.

WHY USE INLINE CSS?

You can dramatically improve the effectiveness of your articles by dressing up their visual presentation. When you do this, your articles will be

easier to readeasier to understandvisually pleasing.

HTML tags are used to organize the article content; the CSS is used to tell browsers how to display the content. Simply, HTML code specifies *what* content is to be displayed; the inline CSS defines *how* the content is to be displayed.

Normally, I would remove the CSS completely from the article body and use an external or internal style sheet instead. The fundamental goal of CSS, after all, is to separate content from display. W3Schools states that

"An inline style loses many of the advantages of style sheets by mixing content with presentation."

That being said, you may not always be able to use an internal or external style sheet. For example, article directory and ezine services do not allow the use of style sheets. However, at least one article directory does allow inline CSS Robotic process automation (RPA)

There is one advantage of using inline CSS: inline CSS will override an external or internal style sheet -- so you can be sure the styling you want will be applied to your content.