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Web Design
Liquid vs. Fixed
On the web the designer has no control over several
factors, including the size of the browser window, the web browser used, the input
devices used (mouse, touch screen, voice command, text, cell phone number pad, etc.)
and the size and characteristics of available fonts.
Some designers choose to control
the appearance of the elements on the screen by using specific width designations.
This control may be achieved through the use of a HTML table-based design or a more
semantic div-based design through the use of CSS. Whenever the text, images, and
layout of a design do not change as the browser changes, this is referred to as
a fixed width design.
Proponents of fixed width design prefer precise control over
the layout of a site and the precision placement of objects on the page.
Other designers
choose a liquid design. A liquid design is one, like Wikipedia, where the design
moves to flow content into the whole screen, or a portion of the screen, no matter
what the size of the browser window.
Proponents of liquid design prefer greater
compatibility and using the screen space available.
Liquid design can be achieved
through the use of CSS, by avoiding styling the page altogether, or by using HTML
tables (or more semantic divs) set to a percentage of the page.
Both liquid and
fixed design developers must make decisions about how the design should degrade
on higher and lower screen resolutions.
Sometimes the pragmatic choice is made to
flow the design between a minimum and a maximum width. This allows the designer
to avoid coding for the browser choices making up The Long Tail, while still using
all available screen space.
Depending on the purpose of the content, a web designer
may decide to use either fixed or liquid layouts on a case-by-case basis. Similar
to liquid layout is the optional fit to window feature with Adobe Flash content.
This is a fixed layout that optimally scales the content of the page without changing
the arrangement or text wrapping when the browser is resized.
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