Fixed + Liquid = UrbanLayout (Part I)
I'll go into a write-up if anyone is interested, but I seem to have stumbled on a way to have a fixed-width site that flexes based on text sizing. Huh?
Everyone's got a preference when it comes to page layouts. Some like a site to be "liquid", where the content fills up the browser width. To me, this is tough to pull off successfully because reading looooooong lines of text makes my head hurt. The other option? "Fixed" layouts have a specific width that remains the same regardless of monitor size. This helps you provide tight control over a design.
When it comes to reading text on the web, I've always prefered a fixed layout. Just like the small columns in a newspaper, a fixed layout makes scanning text easy on the eyes. But what happens when you resize your text on a fixed layout? The text gets bigger, but the container stays the same size. My favorite blogs suffers from this problem. Try it out on
simplebits (bestest site ever!) or
zeldman. Now try resizing your text on this site. Notice the difference?