Stephanie focuses on Android but this is a cautionary tale about trying to impose control over what you’re sending to the multitude of mobile devices out there.
Designing to fixed screen sizes is in fact never a good idea…there is just too much variation, even amongst ‘popular’ devices.
PPK tests the various ways that mobile browsers handle position:fixed, complete with videos.
Did you notice that Upcoming recently switched from liquid to fixed? Have your say about that here.
Dave redesigns. And before I could bash him for his wide fixed width layout, he went and added a Jeremy Keith Button® on his about page that toggles between liquid and fixed. Cheeky bugger.
Roger hits the nail on the head: "fixed widths are used for the wrong reason - designer vanity. Come on, you’re designing for the Web, which means it’s your job to let things be flexible when you can."
Jon redesigns too. It's lovely, but a bit wide for my taste.
The devil can cite scripture for his own purpose... and now I can cite Nielsen: "...use a liquid layout that stretches well for any resolution, from 800x600 to 1280x1024."
Andy Rutledge proposes a new design for Amazon, saying "Many of these issues can be fixed and/or addressed by adopting a fixed layout." What a load of bollocks. Try doing a liquid layout right.
I've been suckered into another debate on fixed width layouts: "Discussing whether 800 is better than 1024 is like discussing whether Coke is better than Pepsi when all you really want is a nice drink of water."
Roger Johansson details his elastic design.
This is the plain vanilla look.
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