1 column layout is my grail...

I'm sure this topic has been beaten to death...

[Christopher C]

I was sold on CSS about 4-5 months ago and haven't looked back since. I only design now in css & my page sizes are now itsy bitsy and my content couldn't be placed better.

I never truly got the feel for the power of css until I started working within CSS however. SuzyUK's original 3 column design was pretty eye opening as it pointed out to me that really, CSS was never meant to do the same thing that tables could (somewhat ironic because tables weren't really meant to do that either). It's possible, as SuzyUK showed, but IMO not practical.

Anyways, it seems that whenever I come and peek at the CSS forum there is always the same kind of 3-column or "vertical scrolling" grail post. CSS design was itself the grail, thinking in columns imo is not only imo a waste of time but more importantly stops you from utilizing some very cool CSS design related features.

[Rincewind]

Rather. I often see too many people struggling to make CSS/xhtml designs that look exactly like tabled designs. Either they are trying to recreate the existing tabled design in css or they are just being unimaginative. Most "grail" designs require a host of hacks and tricks to stop them form breaking in other browsers. For example the common box model hacks to cope with IE 5.5.

CSS give you the tools to put the page elements where you want. You don't need to use these hacks if you design you page to be flexible. Be creative in your layout. Header, left, center, right, foo...yawn...ter, is so dull. Think out of the box.

[IeuanJ]

Thats all good and well, but unfortunately you normally have to conform to the same kind of displays that are currently available on the web.

The ...

<header />
<main>
<leftmenu />
<content />
<rightmenu />
</main>
<footer />

... design works! It works for amazon, play.com, imdb, microsoft, ebay and a whole host of successful sites. This is the type of layout that the public expect to see. Any major deviation from this will tend to confuse a lot of people and lead to usability issues.

Therefor as designers when a company asks us to design a site, we must use the design and layout that will attract the most visitors and gererate the most sales, we cant do that is people are confused. Remember the majority of people using the web these days are not savvy designers and techy programmers, they are normal people who want to be able to browse the web like looking through a catelogue of newspaper.

I am all for original design but lets be realistic, it is not normally appropriate. Just look at examples in other walks of life.

How many newspapers would you sell if you put the racing results on the front page and hide the big stories inside? How many cars would you sell if you made them diamond shape? How many extra shoppers would you get if you took your best stuff out of the window and replaced it with your checkout?

If you want to create a personal web page that is fun and an original design, heh go knock yourself out. But for any site that you expect the public to regularly use, you will have to make it as easy for them as possible.