[thelist] Re: DEBATE: Fixed Width Vs Liquid

Techwatcher techwatcher at accesswriters.com
Tue Jun 4 16:05:06 CDT 2002


Hi, all--

If you want the users to read text, it's true the lines should be kept
relatively short (60-70 characters normally). I try to design in such a
way that the right and left margins are large naturally, then let the
center float. Right now, I do this with a table kludge: On the left, at
intervals (making them exactly even with major, or widely separated,
headings), I have the very simple image of a "welcome mat" appear. This
is described, on its first appearance on every page, as an icon
allowing the reader to jump back to the Home Page. On the right, I have
a matching (different) icon, also very simple, which stands for
returning to the hypertext Table of Contents at the top of that page.
(I try to make the intervals between icons equal to roughly no more
than 2 screens of scrolled text.)

I have a large site (well, about 60 pages, which is large for distinct
text pages, not for database-type content!), and it's organized using
an extended visual metaphor of a village, with buildings (bookshop with
shelves, Town Hall with counter & doors, etc.). So my icon on the right
is always the building to which this page belongs, which helps the
reader remain oriented for lower-level pages.

The site is AccessWriters.com (capital letters just to make that
readable).

It's not the current fad (glossy fake magazine with tabs!), but I don't
care to be fashionable, myself. The homemade look probably attracts
more writers than it repels, anyway.

Once CSS is more nearly ubiquitous, I think I can accomplish this same
design with CSS, by setting margins to be about 100-120 pixels on each
side, except for headers (which are centered, anyway, in my existing,
very basic CSS). Since my images are inline, I can just float them
either side of the headers (with 0 margins). At least, I'm hoping to be
able to do this -- with just Backup&Replace'Em to revise the HTML and a
new CSS. That's why I'm slowly reading through the whole folder of W3's
CSS specs....

I do think, if you're going to use fluid text, that the column should
at least be centered on the page (not, of course, centering each
line!). Can't one use fixed thingies at the right and left that would
at least make sense on the page, perhaps even be useful to the reader,
without becoming a distraction?

To carry your reader along with you, it's also very important to keep a
strong "narrative line" going... Do this with lots of linking words
(conjunctions, making clear relationship of sentences, such
as "Because," or "Therefore," or "Then" -- and use all the other
readability tricks, too. I am famous (in certain, admittedly small
circles!) for my ability to turn boring PR-type stuff into compelling
reading, and I've just told you my main "secret." (-8

Use S-V-O structure, bullet any multiple O's (objects), keep sentences
simple instead of complex most of the time, etc. Watch paragraph
lengths, too -- not more than 8 lines (average screen, average text
size, obviously) -- but more than 1 sentence! Use lots and lots of
subheadings (add more if necessary), and make sure each becomes part of
the hypertext ToC, too.

(Of course, I wrote a program that automatically finds all headers,
puts the "name" anchor around them, copies the header to a ToC file
with matching href anchors around them, and turns the whole thing into
an unordered list. So I only have to massage and merge my ToC file into
the main HTML file to have internal hypertext links at the top of any
page. Makes it easier for me.)

Cheers --
Carol
techwatcher at accesswriters.com



More information about the thelist mailing list