Generally a liquid design will adjust your website to the users’ browser settings. This generally is dictated by the screen resolution that the user has currently set as default for his/her system.

This type of design eliminates the white space that would appear around a web layout if viewed at a higher resolution than the sites’ native optimized resolution. Current standards in screen resolutions are as follows: 1024 x 768(XGA/XVGA) 1280 x 1024(SXGA) and 1600 x 1200 (UXGA); the above values represent pixels displayed in width and height; this value is determined by the type of display you have as well as the video card installed on your pc. Most current 17” LCD displays will have an SXGA optimized resolution.

The drawback to such liquid design is that it is difficult to create a web layout that would look equally appealing at XGA as well as at UXGA. During the process of stretching the site to fill the screen the site will lose its impact and become rather bland with the content spread apart.

Another disadvantage of having such a liquid layout is that studies have shown that most users do not find it appealing when the information is presented in this manner. It is difficult to read a line that spans the width of ones browser. Most users prefer text content to be formatted for around 11 words per line as it makes reading much easier on the eyes.

However the liquid design is still implemented by many websites on the internet. It is important to understand your specific needs before selecting a web layout style. For a site that requires information relating to a specific item to be presented lengthwise for example, this style of design is ideal. EBay is a good example of how liquid design is used in the inner pages where items up for auction are shown.

Fixed Layout

A fixed layout is the opposite of a liquid layout. A fixed layout will be assigned a fixed pixel width during the design process. Therefore a website optimized to fit a XGA/XVGA resolution will have a pixel width of less than 1000 pixels across. If the user is viewing the site on a display that is XVGA and the site is optimized for SXGA the user will notice a scroll bar at the bottom of the browser, a commonly known faux pas in web design. Therefore most layouts are optimized for XVGA or VGA in order to eliminate this scroll bar completely.

A fixed website layout optimized for 800 X 600(the current lowest resolution for a pc) will appear full screen for those users viewing the site at that resolution. If a user has set his screen resolution to XVGA (most commonly used resolution today) he/she will see empty white space around the main layout of the website. To make this site appear fuller some designers will opt to fill this space with a patterned background or color.

A mix of Fixed and Liquid

Some designers will opt to develop a website using components of both layout styles. Certain parts of the site, for instance, the main header and footer, will span the width of the screen while other content (mainly text) will be in a fixed format. This method of design is a happy medium between the two styles. It gives the benefit of appearing to be liquid while keeping the width of the key components fixed so as to preserve the site’s user friendliness.

In conclusion you must identify your requirements as well as the type of user who will visit your website before you select a liquid or fixed layout style.