Data at a Glance: The Beauty of HTML Tables

Organise and display data in a clear and structured way using HTML tables. Packed practical guide with examples and CSS tips for visual appeal.

Coding Cossack
4 min readFeb 6, 2023
colorful blue, yellow and white design slogan design

HTML tables are a useful tool for web designers and developers, they can be used to organise and display data in a clear and structured way. They’re not beautiful. Let’s be honest. But they are necessary. HTML tables concepts are an essential aspect of web design and development. They are used to create tables with rows and columns, making it easy to display and share data. In this blog post, we will explore different concepts of HTML tables and how to use them effectively.

🚀⚡✂️ Cut Email writing time by 50% → AiREPLI

1 | Table Rows & Cells

First, let’s talk about the basic structure of an HTML table. The <table> element is used to create a table, the <tr> element is used to create a table row, and the <td> element is used to create a table cell.

Screen capture of HTML code example in a text editor
HTML: Basic Table

In this example, the table is created with two columns and three rows. Each row contains two cells, each cell holds a specific data.

2 | Table Headers & Footers

Another important concept of HTML tables is the ability to add a header row and a footer row. The <th> element is used to create a table header cell and the <tfoot> element is used to create a table footer.

Screen capture of HTML code example in a text editor
HTML: Table with Header & Footer Row

In this example, the table is created with a header row, a body section, and a footer row. The header row contains the column names and it’s used to identify the data in each cell. The body section contains the data of the table, and the footer row contains the footer data.

3 | Table Captions

It’s also important to use tables in a logical and consistent manner. This means that you should use them to organise and display data in a clear and structured way. Also, it’s important to use the <caption> element to add a brief description of the table's content and purpose, it allows the users to understand the data presented in the table.

HTML: Table with “Sales data” Caption

In this example, the caption “Sales data” gives users a clear idea of what the table represents, it shows the sales data of different products including product name, quantity, and price.

4 | Table Styling

Another HTML table concept is the ability to add styling and layout to your tables by using CSS. You can use CSS to control the colour, size, and position of the table elements, as well as add hover effects, borders and more.

Screen capture of HTML code example in a text editor
HTML: Table with class Attribute
Screen capture of CSS code example in a text editor
CSS Styling for Table

In this example, the class “table” is added to the table element, and it’s used to apply the styling using CSS. The table has a width of 100%, a border of 1px, the table header cells have a background colour of #f2f2f2, and the table data cells have a padding of 8px and a left alignment.

Conclusion

HTML tables concepts are an essential aspect of web design and development. They are used to create tables with rows and columns, making it easy to display and share data. By understanding the different concepts of HTML tables and using them correctly, you can improve the organisation and readability of your data, and make your website more visually appealing and user-friendly. With the right combination of HTML and CSS, you’ll create tables that stand out and leave a lasting impression on your visitors. Subscribe to my Blog for FREE!

Follow CodingCossack on Twitter and Medium

--

--

Coding Cossack

I build Software 🔨 It breaks 💔 And then I write about it ✍️ | airepli.io