Part 1 of 13
Why format tables?
Compare these two tables. They have the same data but look very different:
Unformatted
| Name | Department | Position | Salary |
| John Smith | Marketing | Manager | $65,000 |
| Mary Jones | Engineering | Developer | $78,000 |
| Bob Wilson | Sales | Director | $85,000 |
| Lisa Chen | Marketing | Analyst | $55,000 |
| Tom Brown | Engineering | Lead Dev | $92,000 |
No borders, no colors. Hard to read.
✓ Formatted
| Name | Department | Position | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| John Smith | Marketing | Manager | $65,000 |
| Mary Jones | Engineering | Developer | $78,000 |
| Bob Wilson | Sales | Director | $85,000 |
| Lisa Chen | Marketing | Analyst | $55,000 |
| Tom Brown | Engineering | Lead Dev | $92,000 |
Clear borders and a styled header. Easy to read.
TABLE DESIGN = colors and styles
TABLE LAYOUT = structure and alignment