Flexible or fluid width: which is better for your website?

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October 23rd, 2009 by Richard

In the world of web design there are two main styles of website. There is the fixed width website and the fluid website, but before you decide which style of website is right for you, you first need to know what both terms mean.

Fixed width website

Fixed width means that the size of your main content, or design, is a fixed width. This is usually determined by a pixel size and is often around the 1,000 pixels mark so that it fits on a 1024×768 resolution, the most common screen size at the moment. When a user has a larger screen size, the size of the website does not change.

Sometimes you will have a tiled background, such as an image or a pattern that expands with the screen, but the design of the website does not expand and the space for your information and products does not expand.

This type of website offers a very tight style, but is often wasteful on space on larger screen resolutions.

Fluid website

A fluid web design is much more flexible as the size of the website changes with the user’s browser size. It can appear very tight and small on a low resolution and, on a high resolution, it can expand to fill the screen. Fluid web designs make much better use of space as they can fill the screen with more information and products, but the design is often compromised for this flexibility.

Which style is right for you will depend on whether you prioritise the look of your website or the real estate of your website. Speak to our experts at Click Consult and we’ll help you decide on the best web design style for your needs.

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