In regard to the first two problems we identified, there was good news. HTML, the building block of Web pages, had evolved and continues to evolve as a more manageable and flexible tool for handling larger Web sites. Basic advances in the HTML specification such as the use of Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) to separate style from content marked a significant improvement in the ability to manage a Web site. With each new release, most HTML software packages added more site management and template features that enhanced the ability of Web developers to maintain consistency and propagate changes throughout a site.

However, we found that these developments did not really address the underlying problems of workflow and structure. They alleviated some difficulties, but still operated within the structural restrictions of the HTML page in which the content is never fully separated from the style. It works fine if you choose to involve the Web team (someone with HTML and Web scripting knowledge) in nearly all aspects of production, design, and delivery, and you create your Web site content for only one medium (the computer monitor Web page). But that is seldom, if ever, the case.