I have spent some time this weekend converting my website to better use cascading style sheets (CSS). I have always been an advocate of substance over style though it cannot be denied that a great looking website is a pleasure to browse. Whilst I am aware that my website admin credentials are firmly in the "amateur" category, I am keen to improve my skills and aspire to the professionalism of sites such as wikipedia. I am not totally new to the concepts of what makes a good website, and I am not a fan of sites with large images that take a long time to load and unnecessary video \ animation. I know my limitations, however, and it has been quite tricky getting to grips with CSS. Was it worth it? Well, after reading books such as The Zen of CSS Design by Dave Shea and Molly E. Holzschlag (and its accompanying website http://www.csszengarden.com/) I fully understand the benefits of separating style from substance and would respond with a definite "Yes". It's easy to pass judgement when navigating amateur websites, but those of us who understand the benefits of CSS  shouldn't look down on those amateur sites that still use lots of animation and take an age to load. Everyone has to start somewhere, and whilst I could be embarassed by some of my first web offerings, I am not - it's all part of the joy of publishing online...