CSS and XHTML - The future of the web
CSS was invented as a means of seperating presentational data from content. By Seperating the presentational data, and employing proper coding techniques, you can guarantee complete compatibility with all types of browser software.
Internet Explorer is not the only web browser that people use! Too many designers are still focusing solely on this browser. Times have changed.
Firefox and other standards-compliant browsers are strongly gaining popularity. Microsoft is rewriting Internet Explorer 7.0 for Vista, and it will be highly standards-compliant. Good old "IE Friendly" websites will most likely be "broken" in this new browser.
Everything in its right place..
Proper semantics means knowing what to do with the myriad of HTML tags, and when they should and should not be used. The result of this approach is a clean, logically ordered plain web page.
CSS comes into play by allowing the designer to quickly change the presentation of the web site without touching the HTML code. This means less time is spent on touch-up work and regular maintenance.
When it comes time for your site to be redesigned, you can easily expect to cut the amount of time in half, saving a good deal of money.
Serious Quality
A website is not a joke, it is a serious tool designed to complient and uphold your business' online image and reputation.
The only way to produce a quality website is to build it by hand. Most designers "build from hand" using Front Page where source view is rarely used.
Implicit knowledge of HTML and markup semantics are absolutely necessary in developing a properly functioning, usable, and interoperable website.
Some designers claim to be experts simply because they know how to hand-write tables. This is not 1998. There is no reason to use tables for layout, at all. Any designer still using tables for layout and writing spaghetti code is incompetent.
Your money is precious. Spend it wisely. Selecting a skilled Standards Compliant designer is just like taking your car to an ASE certified master technician for service, it's something you trust.
The choice is yours to make. See my portfolio.