Layers overview

A layer is a container in your Web page that holds HTML page elements. Using layers in your page gives you more control and flexibility to make your page dynamic. Layers were created for use in Web design to give designers the same kind of control and flexibility that they have in traditional print design.

You can stack one layer on top of another, hide some layers while showing others, or move a layer across the screen with a timeline. For example, you could have a background image on one layer, then stack another layer on top that holds text. You could also have images on your page that appear and then fade off the page. All of this can be done using layers in Macromedia Dreamweaver, without having to do any JavaScript or HTML coding.

A disadvantage to using layers in your Web page is that layers are not widely viewable in older Web browsers. Only Internet Explorer 4.0 and Netscape 4.0 and above browsers show layers, and not always consistently. In order for everyone to be able to view your Web page, you can use layers in conjunction with tables. You can design your page layout using layers, then convert the layers to tables. For more information, see Using tables and layers for layout.

Note: It is recommended that you use Layout view for page layout (See Layout overview). Layout view is an easier way to implement your page layout with tables as the underlying structure.