Site Template Overhaul: Dynamic vs Fixed width
Site Template Overhaul: Dynamic vs Fixed width
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» Site Template Overhaul: Dynamic vs Fixed width
I'm voting fixed width.
Admin, SCP Wiki
I strongly prefer the fixed width over the dynamic. This might be partly because how I browse the site and read articles (i.e. I tend to highlight and scroll as I read to help keep my place). In any case, the fixed width looks a lot neater and easier to read in my opinion.
I much prefer dynamic, at least versus this particular fixed style. I have a 1920x1080 monitor and I read the site in one of two ways:
* Full-screen. I have tons of whitespace here, and some very (artificially) long pages to work through. I get that it's either long page or wide page, but I personally prefer having more content on the screen at once; if the argument is that people can't read through huge wide lines of text, let them be the ones to make that decision and use a resized window.
* Half-screen with some other window up side-by-side. At 1920x1080, this fixed width does not fit, the right side is hacked off by probably 20-30px. If that could be dealt with I'd be more open to a fixed width if it could accommodate the half-width window gracefully. If it's not fitting at 1080p, it's certainly not fitting on any smaller a monitor either. Not an issue with dynamic width.
I also prefer dynamic width for mobile browsers, which is the main way my wife reads the wiki. I'll test it on the iPad this evening but screen real estate is already at a premium there.
I'm not gonna be upset if fixed wins out, but it is going to be a mild irritation as it currently stands and how I normally browse.
I will accede to the arguments for easier code maintenance and guaranteed layouts with fixed. What issues I have can be dealt with. Fixed width is fine with me.
I should mention that going fixed would allow me to shave off some of the 3-4em worth of edge padding on the template, if it's really only 20-30px that's the issue.
Edit: Fixed. Margins have been shaved off, shrinking the footprint.
For reference to O5, this is what I see with the revised template on half-width: http://imgur.com/tX4gqI3
On the fixed 682 example it shaves a good 3 letters off the end of every word. With the zoom at 90% it's fine.
I personally feel like fixed width looks the sharpest (I'm on 1600x900, which is apparently huge) and don't consider white space an issue.
However, I think mobile compatibility should be our priority here, since it's easier to mess around and get the look you want on a computer than a phone/tablet.
if your reading this your gay
I agree with Scantron that I have some concerns about people reading it on mobile, but aside from that, I prefer fixed.
Giving bearhugs to the unsuspecting since 1872.
I personally prefer dynamic width, as I read in full-screen widescreen and find a tiny column in the center with a buttload of white space everywhere to be incredibly obnoxious to try and read through. Dynamic width also allows for windows of any size, which doesn't really happen with the fixed width. There's more flexibility with more window sizes and browsing methods on the dynamic option, while fixed width kind of supports one browsing method and any other browsing method will have a ridiculous amount of whitespace or not enough room to read.
EDIT: I feel I should mention that on fixed width the white space is almost more than half of the site for me.
EDIT EDIT: If fixed is the more consistent one then I don't really care in this extent. I can deal with shitloads of whitespace if it means designer's got more control over how their stuff looks like.
Living the dream, or dreaming the life?
For those who have brought it up: Wikidot has craptastic mobile support, all-around. Both templates are looking "okay" on my Nexus 4's Chrome browser, but mainly because without mobile meta-tags, it's just rendering as it would on a desktop.
Both formats look identical on my iPhone, but I would prefer Dynamic. You can adjust the window size, if a fully maximized window makes the paragraphs stretch out to two lines, and it offers more compatibility for all users.
/forum/t-765297/site-template-overhaul:dynamic-vs-fixed-width#post-
