Building web page centered with border

Question

Hello. I am using Dreamweaver CS4.
I want to build a site where the website is a fixed width
centered on the browser window when launched. The website will have
a white background on which I will put text and images. I want to
design the site for 1024 px width. Any area outside the 1024 should
be a light grey, creating a border on the left and right of the
white background of the web page, so if you have a higher
resolution setting on your monitor, you see this border vs. just
more white space. If the browser window is minimized, the
horizontal scroll bar should appear once it is minimized close to
the 1024 px size is reached, with the webpage not changing in size.
Please provide guidance on the following:
1) Should I site up the site using the fixed width centered
layout, with the background color set to white and the size set to
1024?
2) I read about "viewport" in some of the discussions in the
forum. How does this come into play?
3) How do I set up the webpage to show a light grey border on
the left and right of the page if the screen resolution is higher?
Any guidance is greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

If you maximize your browser on an 800px screen, you have
about 760px of
usable width. Similarly, on a 1024px screen, you have about
980px of usable
width. Those are the two target numbers.
The whole "how wide" thing is driven by the (perhaps
unconscious) desire not
to have horizontal scrollbars unless absolutely necessary,
since those are
regarded as a 'non-friendly' thing.
That's the significance.
> I have been using 800 as a standard just because it
seemed to fit well
> within most screens I get to view them on
Not on an 800x600 screen - you get horizontal scrollbars.
The next resolution step up from that is 1024, and yes, an
800px wide screen
will fit within many viewport widths on a 1024px screen, but
not if your
viewport width is < 800px.
The thing is this: If you want to do the 'voodoo' thing and
guess - go
right ahead. Nobody will stop you. If you want to have a
reason, then this
would be a good one.
Murray --- ICQ 71997575
Adobe Community Expert
(If you *MUST* email me, don't LAUGH when you do so!)
==================
http://www.projectseven.com/go
- DW FAQs, Tutorials & Resources
http://www.dwfaq.com - DW FAQs,
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==================
"GPaul" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I'm not understanding the significance of 760 or 980.
>
> I made a site about a year ago at 900, and I thought it
was a tad wide. I
> used to have a 17' CRT as a preview monitor just to
check, and the 900 was
> a little big for my taste.
>
> I have been using 800 as a standard just because it
seemed to fit well
> within most screens I get to view them on, laptops
included... I'm not
> stuck on 800, but it seems to fit well.
>
> What is it that I am not understanding?
>
> Thanks
>
> Gary
>
> "Murray *ACE*" <[email protected]>
wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>> Actually, you've seen most people here recommending
760px or 980px.
>> Intermediate widths may make you feel better, but
won't really do
>> anything more than those two.
>>
>> In other words, if you are concerned about
horizontal scrollbars in a
>> maximized viewport on an 800px wide window you must
go for 760px width.
>> If you are not concerned about that then your next
stop would be
>> horizontal scrollbars in a maximized viewport on a
1024px wide window.
>> That would be 980px. Intermediate values are like
trying to nail jelly
>> to the wall.
>>
>> --
>> Murray --- ICQ 71997575
>> Adobe Community Expert
>> (If you *MUST* email me, don't LAUGH when you do
so!)
>> ==================
>>
http://www.projectseven.com/go
- DW FAQs, Tutorials & Resources
>>
http://www.dwfaq.com - DW FAQs,
Tutorials & Resources
>> ==================
>>
>>
>> "GPaul" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>> news:[email protected]...
>>>I think you will find that the 1024 is a little
wide. Usually start with
>>>800px wide, but have read alot of people here
recommending 900.
>>>
>>> Either way, not sure how much you know about
HTML & CSS, but the CSS is
>>> what will determine how your page is laid out.
>>>
>>> Insert a DIV tag, set the width, then set the
right and left margins to
>>> auto, and you have your centered start...
>>>
>>>
>>> "ndc6060" <[email protected]>
wrote in message
>>> news:[email protected]...
>>>> Hello. I am using Dreamweaver CS4.
>>>>
>>>> I want to build a site where the website is
a fixed width centered on
>>>> the
>>>> browser window when launched. The website
will have a white background
>>>> on which
>>>> I will put text and images. I want to design
the site for 1024 px
>>>> width. Any
>>>> area outside the 1024 should be a light
grey, creating a border on the
>>>> left and
>>>> right of the white background of the web
page, so if you have a higher
>>>> resolution setting on your monitor, you see
this border vs. just more
>>>> white
>>>> space. If the browser window is minimized,
the horizontal scroll bar
>>>> should
>>>> appear once it is minimized close to the
1024 px size is reached, with
>>>> the
>>>> webpage not changing in size.
>>>>
>>>> Please provide guidance on the following:
>>>> 1) Should I site up the site using the fixed
width centered layout,
>>>> with the
>>>> background color set to white and the size
set to 1024?
>>>> 2) I read about "viewport" in some of the
discussions in the forum. How
>>>> does
>>>> this come into play?
>>>> 3) How do I set up the webpage to show a
light grey border on the left
>>>> and
>>>> right of the page if the screen resolution
is higher?
>>>>
>>>> Any guidance is greatly appreciated.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>
>