The Columns Strike Back Table rows tend to make table columns look rather stupid. They do all the work, as the table is built row by row, leaving the columns feeling quite rejected. Luckily for those eager columns though, the colgroup and col tags have come to their rescue. These tags allow you to define the table columns and style them as desired, which is particularly useful if you want certain columns aligned or colored differently, as, without this, you would need to target individual cells.