scriptygoddessThere is a mob of designers praising the power of CSS. And while I think there are some things that CSS can do – I still believe that it can't do *everything*. I understand and can appreciate the concept of "keeping content seperate from design" – however I still face the fact that I want my webpage to do something, and CSS seems to fall short.
So, I want to redesign this site. I came up with the design already. I know how I want the page to behave. But I simply can't seem to figure out a way to get a CSS-only layout to do it. What I DID do, is create a half-table/half-CSS layout – and that DOES do what I want. I will grant you "under the hood" it's not pretty. But for the most part, people are seeing the "presentation" version, and they're not viewing source to read the web site!
I know there are a number of CSS-experts who happen by here – and I'm interested to know if you think you can do it. Can you create this layout – with CSS. But before you jump up and say "of course I can" – let me tell you some of the ground rules. Aside from the basic "look" of the site – I want it to be flexible in that if you shrink your browser down really thin – I do NOT want elements on the page to start breaking apart. I want the width of the main content to stay a minimum width (the minimum width of all the elements before they would start to break apart). ALSO, I want the main content and sidebar to EXPAND as the user expands their browser so that if they have a large screen – they could technically view a wider column of text.
If you can figure out how to do that – then I'll create the site with the code – and you'll get credit on the site (in a "credit" box – like I have now) for coming up with the CSS on the site. (If there's something else you'd want, that's not unreasonable 😉 then I'll see what I can do).
Update: I guess one additional question I should ask is those with larger browsers – how many of you always view your sites with the page *MAXIMIZED* – or do you scale your browser manually to what feels comfortable for each site. The last is what I do – which is why I only noticed later that my new design – with those particular restrictions – if you maximize your browser – the width of the main content is a bit too wide (*IF* you have a large monitor) The reason why this is important is because if those with larger monitors DO maximize their browsers – then I"ll have to change my thinking to focus on a FIXED WIDTH as opposed to a FLEXIBLE width. In either case – I still would not want something as simple as a long URL posted in the comments to break the look (ie – sudently the comment box in the sidebar stretches further than the header above it….) Clear as mud, right? 😉
update 2: I think we have a winnah!! 😀 Nice job Raena!!! (Now it's time to start getting the templates in order!) 😀
