Getting the Size Right !

im trying to make sure my site is sized correctly, and im wondering if im going about it the right way.

I want it to be a fluid design, but i dont want ti to break on smaller resolutions... so ths is what im doing at the moment.

I have set my container div to 90% width

I am trying to make sure that the combined width of my internal divs does not exceed 650 px

The problem with this is that it seems to leave alot of empty space when viewd on better resolutions.

I really dont want to fix the width of my site to 650 px, id like it to fill the screen on larger monitors, but also i dont want it to break on smaller resolutions.

Anyone got any tips on how to approach this confusing issue of size?

This can be a real pain.

If we take designing for 800px as a starting point. You have actually about 760px as a max working width.

Now allowing for a fluid layout. Unless you are very, very careful with your design then there is a good chance that it wil break in larger or smaller resolutions and in the worst case both.

For example, if you have a text div that expands on a large resolution to full screen, then the text actually becomes difficult for people to read as they don't like scanning long lines of text on-screen.

I don't think you need to worry about going below 800px unless you are thinking of PDA's in which case you should be thinking of using a seperate style file for these and coding accordingly.

Also keep in mind that very few people with larger resolutions actually have their browser at full width. Most actually reduce the width to something akin to 800px but leave the height at max.

are you not able to have some/most of the divs width inside the container set using %'s?

obviously if you use a fluid layout the will be alot of white space when viewied on a massive screen?

got a link man?

Links will be given towards the end of january... till then its a secret... shhhhhh pmsl (mainly cos i dont want u to laugh)

Thanks for the help geoff... and your righ... it is a pain

I believe the "long lines difficult to read" issue is moot!

Ask yourself this.... Why are you making the browser wider? You want more text available... right? What else, beside the lines getting longer, would you expect to happen?

When somebody maximizes their browser yet the line length doesn't increase with it, you just took away their ability to maximize the amount of data on their screen.

You could go with a 3 column layout to help reduce the overall line length. Even so, you will still get long lines if you have a true fluid layout.

The other idea is by letting the site flow the entire width and leaving the font sizing completely adjustable, the user can have a full width browser with larger text. This is sometimes needed to overcome the larger resolutions used by the new lcd monitors.

The idea is to allow for as much user adjustability as your design can accommadate.

Many designers continue to hold the users back by controlling their experience, thus not allowing the users to grow with the new technology. People will adapt when given the chance to adapt!

Its a three column layout im using... but yes i aggree totally with the adjustable yext size point