Comments on: Fixed or Fluid? http://www.patricktaylor.com/92 www.patricktaylor.com Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:05:56 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Chris http://www.patricktaylor.com/92/comment-page-1#comment-4479 Chris Thu, 04 Mar 2010 18:00:23 +0000 http://www.patricktaylor.com/?p=92#comment-4479 There are limits to backward compatibility. Even M$, the king of backward compatibility (because of the immense number of businesses that hold on to older MS products) broke away from DOS-grounded systems with Windows 2000 and XP, and then made another jump with Windows 7 (I leave Vista to molder alongside WinME). I do not think that web designers should spend a lot of time worrying about resolutions smaller than 1024x768 any longer. Lead (or drag) the users into the promised land of bigger screens and more visible content. I am a person who dislikes wasted margin space and so leans toward fluid design, but I concede that sites whose focus is primarily long text articles might benefit from a thinner column style. There are limits to backward compatibility. Even M$, the king of backward compatibility (because of the immense number of businesses that hold on to older MS products) broke away from DOS-grounded systems with Windows 2000 and XP, and then made another jump with Windows 7 (I leave Vista to molder alongside WinME). I do not think that web designers should spend a lot of time worrying about resolutions smaller than 1024×768 any longer. Lead (or drag) the users into the promised land of bigger screens and more visible content. I am a person who dislikes wasted margin space and so leans toward fluid design, but I concede that sites whose focus is primarily long text articles might benefit from a thinner column style.

]]> By: Chris http://www.patricktaylor.com/92/comment-page-1#comment-4465 Chris Wed, 03 Feb 2010 18:30:29 +0000 http://www.patricktaylor.com/?p=92#comment-4465 Good read. While I agree that fluid layouts are nice and accessible, I think we need to have the width fixed at a certain resolution. my company has a layout that has its width at 100% with no width constraint other than it cant go below 900px. imagine reading a line of text at 100% on a 1600+ resolution monitor.. not accessible to me. hard to read. the ui/ux guy here wants to make it easy for the customer allowing them to get where they need to go in less steps and less clicks.. what happens when they add a step like resizing the browser window because its too wide? theyre breaking their own rule.. Good read. While I agree that fluid layouts are nice and accessible, I think we need to have the width fixed at a certain resolution. my company has a layout that has its width at 100% with no width constraint other than it cant go below 900px. imagine reading a line of text at 100% on a 1600+ resolution monitor.. not accessible to me. hard to read. the ui/ux guy here wants to make it easy for the customer allowing them to get where they need to go in less steps and less clicks.. what happens when they add a step like resizing the browser window because its too wide? theyre breaking their own rule..

]]> By: Patrick http://www.patricktaylor.com/92/comment-page-1#comment-4051 Patrick Tue, 13 Nov 2007 22:22:41 +0000 http://www.patricktaylor.com/?p=92#comment-4051 One way to look at this is to imagine reading a newspaper at a table, with the paper expanding sideways until it's the full width of the table but only a few inches high. That says it all, I think. Take no notice of the web intelligentsia. Incidentally, I notice that Capgemini's website is now wider than it was (but still fixed-width). There might be a case for a website with a lot of content being fixed for a 1024 pixel wide screen these days instead of the rapidly disappearing 800 pixels, but text will always be more readable in fairly narrow columns. Newspaper websites tend to be fixed-width, and newspapers should know all about readability. One way to look at this is to imagine reading a newspaper at a table, with the paper expanding sideways until it's the full width of the table but only a few inches high. That says it all, I think. Take no notice of the web intelligentsia.

Incidentally, I notice that Capgemini's website is now wider than it was (but still fixed-width). There might be a case for a website with a lot of content being fixed for a 1024 pixel wide screen these days instead of the rapidly disappearing 800 pixels, but text will always be more readable in fairly narrow columns. Newspaper websites tend to be fixed-width, and newspapers should know all about readability.

]]> By: edward http://www.patricktaylor.com/92/comment-page-1#comment-4050 edward Tue, 13 Nov 2007 20:52:57 +0000 http://www.patricktaylor.com/?p=92#comment-4050 Hi I have been designing sites for about 1 year (seriously anyway) and have had a few clients. I have mostly done fixed width sites, but have recently started to worry a bit that if I want to be taken seriously (!!!) I need to look to do more fluid layouts. Trouble is, I feel that these take my control away. I have been shouted at on some forums when I have raised this issue, so I was VERY pleased to come across this most helpful article that has helped me feel more confident. I was beginning to doubt that the sites that I had made were really any good! I will explore fluid layouts a bit more - I am sure that I will be asked to design sites that require this. But for now thanks again for such a thought provoking, honest article. (And good to see so many great looking, fixed width sites!) E Hi

I have been designing sites for about 1 year (seriously anyway) and have had a few clients. I have mostly done fixed width sites, but have recently started to worry a bit that if I want to be taken seriously (!!!) I need to look to do more fluid layouts. Trouble is, I feel that these take my control away. I have been shouted at on some forums when I have raised this issue, so I was VERY pleased to come across this most helpful article that has helped me feel more confident. I was beginning to doubt that the sites that I had made were really any good!

I will explore fluid layouts a bit more – I am sure that I will be asked to design sites that require this.

But for now thanks again for such a thought provoking, honest article. (And good to see so many great looking, fixed width sites!)

E

]]> By: Patrick http://www.patricktaylor.com/92/comment-page-1#comment-317 Patrick Tue, 12 Sep 2006 19:04:09 +0000 http://www.patricktaylor.com/?p=92#comment-317 Tom, yes that's me, and thanks for the comment. I'll mention it to Nick. It's a small world, as I found out the other day when someone from Bury bought some drinking glasses from a small online shop I operate. She was surprised to have them delivered in person and to have the postage refunded! Congrats on your graduation and good luck in web development. Tom, yes that's me, and thanks for the comment. I'll mention it to Nick. It's a small world, as I found out the other day when someone from Bury bought some drinking glasses from a small online shop I operate. She was surprised to have them delivered in person and to have the postage refunded!

Congrats on your graduation and good luck in web development.

]]> By: Tom D http://www.patricktaylor.com/92/comment-page-1#comment-316 Tom D Tue, 12 Sep 2006 17:06:16 +0000 http://www.patricktaylor.com/?p=92#comment-316 I've had this bookmarked via Google for a while since I started researching pure CSS layouts - thought it was an interesting read - and just realised you must be Nick's dad? I'm a friend of his from school, he mentioned his dad was a web designer - I've just graduated and will hopefully be starting work in web development soon. Very nice website anyway, great WP theme and some very good articles! I've had this bookmarked via Google for a while since I started researching pure CSS layouts – thought it was an interesting read – and just realised you must be Nick's dad? I'm a friend of his from school, he mentioned his dad was a web designer – I've just graduated and will hopefully be starting work in web development soon.

Very nice website anyway, great WP theme and some very good articles!

]]> By: Erwin Heiser http://www.patricktaylor.com/92/comment-page-1#comment-52 Erwin Heiser Tue, 28 Mar 2006 21:49:43 +0000 http://www.patricktaylor.com/?p=92#comment-52 Nice site, lively design and a nice round-up of layout techniques. Good to see a Wordpress site that breaks the mould :-) Cheers, Erwin Nice site, lively design and a nice round-up of layout techniques. Good to see a WordPress site that breaks the mould :-)

Cheers,

Erwin

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