Site Format Advice: Fixed with or 100%
When building a website there are two main styles to choose from:
1. Fixed Width (750px)
e.g. www.ebay.co.uk , www.argos.co.uk , news.bbc.co.uk , www.dti.gov.uk , www.hmrc.gov.uk
This usually means the website width is fixed to 750px wide, and there may be white space around the website if your monitor is large.
Why use 750px? Because this is the lowest common denominator, and means that all computer users whether they have a large monitor or a small monitor will be bale to see your website.
This style is the most widely used style as it mean that your website will look the same regardless of who is viewing it.
Pros:
- Website has a consistent look on everyone's monitor
- You do not need as much text to fill the page
Cons:
- There may be white space around the website for people with large monitors
2. Fluid Width (100%)
e.g. www.amazon.co.uk , www.dabs.com
This style is more used for shopping websites, not for text or information sites as much.
The website will expand and contract depending on the size of the viewers monitor, try and resize your browser and if the actually page content expands and contracts then it is a fluid 100%.
Pros:
- Will fill the screen so there is no white space, or another colour, to the side(s) of your website
Cons:
- The page layout will not look consistent on all screens
- More page content is needed to fill the page and those with little content may look sparse
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