Google Penalty for bad CSS?

[kapow]

I recently launched a new site, and it has PR0. The only difference between this site and others I've made is that I have for the first time used a special CSS for layout, ie I've used an external CSS to create the positions and attributes of DIVs. Would Google give a penalty / PR0 for CSS the way I've done it? OK - this kind of CSS is new to me so perhaps I've made some stupid mistakes. I have copied my CSS below and its link tag.

Could it be the 'display: none;' in the print section? Would google think I was trying to hide text?
Could it be my DIV positioning - does it confuse google.

<link href="stylesheet.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css">

body {
background-color: #00CCCC;
color: #000000;
font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
margin: 0 0 0 0;
padding: 0 0 0 0;}

#top {
width: 100%;
height: 80px;
background-color: #FFFFFF;
background-image: url(images/banner1.jpg); background-attachment: fixed; }

#top h1 {
text-align: center;
font-size: 30px;
color: #CC3300;
font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
/* padding-top: 20px; */
margin: 0 0 0 0;}

#top p {
text-align: center;
font-size: 10px;
color: #000000;
font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
margin: 0;}

#divider {
height: 20px;
background-image: url(images/divider.gif);}

ul {list-style-image: url("images/bullet.gif")}
li {color: #000000;}

#content {
position: absolute;
top: 95px;
left: 220px;
padding-left: 3em;
padding-top: 2em;
padding-right: 1%;
padding-bottom: 5em;
color: #696F72;
font-size: .9em;
font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;}
#content a:link { color: #CC3300;}
#content a:visited { color: #CC3300;}
#content a:hover { background-color: #CC3300; color:#ffffff;}

#content img {border-color:"#CC3300";}

#content P { color: #000000; margin-top:0em;}

#content h1 {
font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
font-size: 3em;
margin-bottom: 0em; margin-top:0em;
color: #CC0033;}

#content h2 {
font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
font-size: 1.3em;
margin-bottom: 0em; margin-top:0em;
color: #CC3300;}

#content ul {
font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
color: #696F72;}

#content h3 {
font-size: 1.2em;
font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
color: #696F72;
margin-top: .5em;
margin-bottom: .5em;}

#leftnav {
width: 243px;
background-color: #FFcc00;
vertical-align: top;
border-right: 1px solid #000000;
border-bottom: 1px solid #000000;
padding-bottom: 20em;
font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;}

#leftnav a {
font-size: .8em;
display: block;
padding-left: 1em; padding-top: .2em; padding-right: .4em; padding-bottom: .1em;
border-bottom: 1px solid #000000; color:#ffffff; text-decoration: none;}
#leftnav a:link { color: #000000;}
#leftnav a:visited { color: #000000;}
#leftnav a:hover { background-color: #cc0033; color:#ffffff;}

/* Print */
@media print {
body {margin: 1cm 1cm 1cm 1cm;}
#leftnav {display: none;}
#top h1 {font-size: 20pt;text-align: center; color: #000000;margin: 0 0 0 0;padding: 0 0 0 0;}
#top p {font-size: 10pt;text-align: center; margin: 0 0 0 0;padding: 0 0 0 0;}
#content {font-size: 10pt;position: absolute;top: 120px;left: 0px;}
#content h2 {font-size: 16pt;}
#content h3 {font-size: 14pt;}
}

[savvy1]

I recently launched a new site, and it has PR0

And this normal occurence is a problem why? ...

Does it have incoming links? Lots of them? If not then this seems perfectly normal.

[rogerd]

I don't think it's all that typical for a site to debut at PR0. Usually, sites move from no PR (gray) to some number in the 5 or below range depending on linkage. There presumably is some linkage, since Google found the site. (This is assuming that you have a completely white toolbar, Kapow, not a gray one.) Are your inbound links solid, Kapow? I'd check to make sure they aren't PR0, if you only have one or two.

[Nick_W]

Hi Kapow,

Relax: All is well ;)

Exactly the same thing happened to me. Debut of PR0 then next update a steady PR5. In fact this has now happened 3 times to me.

All of my sites and my client sites have external CSS layouts and there has never been a problem. In fact Google seems to really like them!

Nick

[kapow]

Yes - the site has 3 healthy inbound links (pr 4,5 and 6).
Yes it is PR0 (all white)

> Debut of PR0 then next update a steady PR5
Nick_W - is this because of the CSS?
I don't get this with other sites when Google first picks them up.

[WebGuerrilla]

Do your log files show that Googlebot requested your style sheet? Typically, they don't do that, so the chances of your PR0 being related to CSS is pretty slim.

[kapow]

Googlebot does not seem to have requested my style sheet.
There is nothing else unusual about this website.

Nick_W: are you saying there is a 2 month delay for sites using CSS for layout?

[Nick_W]

No I'm not. I'm saying that sh*t happens ;)
I've seen other people post simiar thing here with no mention of css.

Besides G doesn't pick up css anyhow.

Don't worry, it just happens sometimes...

Nick