solid or liquid design?

I'm just starting out on a 4-new-websites-in-a-row journey and I'm wondering what design frame to use.

I used to make everything solid 800*600 (approximately) so just about everybody can see it, leaving me with most control over appearances.

Now I'm wondering if I should either "migrate" to a classic two or three column liquid design that fills out the screen, or

make a new solid design scheeme that fits with 1024*768px. This due to the fact that the smaller screen sizes are hastly disappearing.

Please let me have your own favourite opinion about template style, design and size

Also - and most urgently - if I decide on the last option, what sizes are optimal when you have to take in to account the browser menu and such?

If there's too much rambling here it's partly due to the fact that I need to go to bed now. Trying to keep up both full time accounting job and part time webmastering (which allways seem to end up taking a lot more time than I got these days... oh, my poor kids )

 

it's really about audience if you go solid (or fixed). if you run a gaming site ... 1024 is fine. but judging by the links in your sig ... i would tend to think you have a more mature audience. if that's the case ... design for 800 x 600 as many older people with eye sight not as sharp as it used to be, will set the monitors to this res.

i have done liquid sites ... but if you are into pixel perfection, it can get to be more trouble than i feel it's worth.

i have created these sites to be liquid - http://www.superiordeal.com & http://www.thelimoagent.com ... but the client frequently asks "can you add this" and then things be to be more trouble then they are worth. (although it's not that bad).

i consider myself decent with CSS ... i notice the "designer" type web developers tend to stick to fixed width as well ... i suspect for those reasons.

there are clever was to make liquid layouts too ... for the most past, this is fixed ( http://www.skattabrain.com ) ... except the links on the right side stretch is there is space to stretch.

 

I have this same problem, as a graphic designer I want to design, but it gets frustrating when things do not center and Im not good at all with CSS I just muddle along, some do not like lots of little scroll bars and what not, and I never know what to do for the best, I love to design but then find that half the net see a small box slaped up the left hand side when I see a lovely page in 600x800 perhaps there is a rule im breaking out there? Design less use plain more *shudder*, but that goes against the grain

 

http://glish.com/css/7.asp
http://www.csszengarden.com/

I still use fixed width, it depends what you are buiding for..I like things to remain exactly where I put them. I even use tables, doesnt seem to cause that much of a problem..

 

I get good feed back about the fact that my sight "moves and fills the page"

I prefer using the space, its there so use it is my theory, although I understand the pros of a fixed site.

 

I would not make a fixed design for 1024 width. Lots of people don't have that resolution, and horizontal scrolling sucks arse.

I personally prefer liquid designs. Look at what a nice and simple liquid design these forums have

 

the problem i find with liquid designs is the page design always ends up being very square (unless you end up using empty divs/spans for curved corners). i do prefer liquid designs for the sake of taking up as much of the browser as possible (especially if you have the navigation along the side), but not at the expense of the design. go with whatever works!

 

I think for the very least you need to design in 800 for fixed. There is a great deal of people still using 800 and it would be a damn shame to lose them because the page doesn't fit.

 

800 X 600

But I think that now, there is more users that use 1024 X 768. In my last site I had used 1024 X 768.

 

I think it doesn't really matter as long as everyone can see your site comfortably.

 

I still build for the 800 resolution and assume that the person that has the 800X600 screen also has his screen maximized and not. A pretty good debate can be found here: Fixed v. Fluid - Round 1 (of many, I'm sure)