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jayeff · 03-13-2007, 04:02 AM

Several usability studies suggest that surfers far and away prefer full-screen layouts. Assuming they are correct, fluid designs would seem to be the best way to go. But...

The graphic layouts popular for paysite tours often cannot be handled that way (although it is technically possible to make static graphics resizable, the results are usually poor). Expanding text also has to be done with care, since many people are not comfortable reading overly wide lines. And if you do go for a fixed-width layout, the choice of width isn't as simple as looking at popular screen resolutions, because many who have larger screens do not browse full-screen. Before totally abandoning the 800x600 crowd, you might also consider how much effort you put into tweaks to chase much smaller parts of your potential audience.

The subject needs some thought, because horizontal scrolling is very high on surfers' lists of things they hate. If you are going to force surfers to scroll horizontally, I strongly recommend keeping the things you need them to see (such as navigation) on the left of the screen, using the area right of 760 pixels for content (which they will probably be more inclined to scroll for).

I would stick currently to 950 pixels or less for fixed-width layouts, but more importantly than the simple width issue, do you check your designs to see what happens when Firefox users (for example) change the font size with a turn of their mousewheel? You can't stop them doing that and the results can be horrendous. Many fluid designs break at that point, not only fixed ones.

03-13-2007, 04:02 AM
jayeff Confirmed User Join Date: May 2001 Posts: 2,944	Several usability studies suggest that surfers far and away prefer full-screen layouts. Assuming they are correct, fluid designs would seem to be the best way to go. But... The graphic layouts popular for paysite tours often cannot be handled that way (although it is technically possible to make static graphics resizable, the results are usually poor). Expanding text also has to be done with care, since many people are not comfortable reading overly wide lines. And if you do go for a fixed-width layout, the choice of width isn't as simple as looking at popular screen resolutions, because many who have larger screens do not browse full-screen. Before totally abandoning the 800x600 crowd, you might also consider how much effort you put into tweaks to chase much smaller parts of your potential audience. The subject needs some thought, because horizontal scrolling is very high on surfers' lists of things they hate. If you are going to force surfers to scroll horizontally, I strongly recommend keeping the things you need them to see (such as navigation) on the left of the screen, using the area right of 760 pixels for content (which they will probably be more inclined to scroll for). I would stick currently to 950 pixels or less for fixed-width layouts, but more importantly than the simple width issue, do you check your designs to see what happens when Firefox users (for example) change the font size with a turn of their mousewheel? You can't stop them doing that and the results can be horrendous. Many fluid designs break at that point, not only fixed ones.