Remembering How to Write Tables for HTML Emails

Tabled Layouts.. what are those? Oh Right! That ancient practice that is now shunned. But, I mean tables have their purpose to display data, so we all are still styling them right?

After recently being thrown into the old, unsophisticated world of HTML Emails for my work, I've learned a thing or two, and had to remember how in the world I used to do the things I did with tables to create layouts. *sigh* HTML Emails are very picky, complex css confuses email programs, and linked css is sketchy. Why, hello html style tags and inline css, where have you been all these years? Oh yes, those skills that you perfected years and years ago and then discarded carelessly into a closet when something newer and shinier came out still has a use!

As I have said, tables still have their purpose outside of layouts, but I've found I've done very little designing with tables, other than making sure they look pretty if used somewhere on a page. I haven't hand coded a table other than for basic info in a while.

If you're like me, and need a refresher in tables, here we go...