Choosing the layout of the website is important, and understanding the terms that are often used when talking about layouts is important for being able to make the right choice. Usually, these four types of page layouts are discussed.
Static Page Layout
This is a common page layout, and it is sometimes called fixed or fixed width layout. It is a page layout that uses a fixed, or permanent, width, and it is always 960 pixels, and that can never be changed. This layout is the traditional layout of the Internet, and web pages in the past were always 960 pixels wide.
Static layouts are not used that much today, because they can create create some problems depending on what device they are being viewed on.
Liquid Page Layout
The liquid page layout, which can also be called fluid, doesn’t use a fixed width, but uses relative units. Usually it is percentages or ems. Liquid layouts don’t require much thinking because they do the work themselves. But, there is one major issue in liquid page layouts. When you have screens that aren’t of standard size, maybe the screen is very wide, the page will become stretched out and everything will basically fall out of its place.
Adaptive Page Layout
The adaptive page layout is a layout that uses CSS media queries in order to find out what the width of the browser is, and then make the right changes in the layout width. Just like the static layout, the adaptive layout uses fixed units, but it is adaptive and will change the width of the page depending on the width of the browser.
Responsive Page Layout
The responsive page layout is great in a way because it uses both media queries and relative units, and basically has the best of both the liquid layout and adaptive layout. It is great at adapting to the changes in browsers, and is one great layout to choose for your website. The responsive page layout is most often used in websites targeted for mobile devices, because the greatest level of adaptation is needed there.
These four layouts are some of the most common types of page layouts used today. They are also the best ones, and it’s up to you to decide which one is best for your website.
Do you think a static layout will work best, or maybe an adaptive layout?
