Page Layout: Fluid vs Fixed layouts.

While there are many ways in which a Web page can be laid out, one useful distinction has to do with how space is apportioned within the page as the Web browser window is resized. This distinction yields either:

• Fixed-width layouts, where the page is defined at a fixed size, regardless of the size of the browser window. Fixed-width layouts are typically either left-justified or centered in the browser window.
• Fluid layouts, where changes in the brower's size are reflected in changes to some or all sections of the HTML page. In such an arrangement, size changes are typically either proportionally divided between the main horizontal sections, or all size changes are absorbed by a single column. A common page layout on the Web has a fixed-width column on the left for navigation, a fixed-width column on the right for ads or blog entries, and the center column is allowed to absorb all changes in the browser's width.

Arranging Elements on a Page

This is the fundamental understanding required to lay out pages effectively. The core concept is the box, where all boxes have common properties: background color, padding, borders, and margins. These properties allow you to stylize the appearance of each building block in your design. Boxes also have positional properties: size and location. These properties allow you to compose pages by placing boxes in specific locations. An effective way to design a page is to think in terms of filling a grid with boxes that may or may not overlap.

Pages are laid out in a straightforward flow of boxes from top to bottom. You can change that flow of the layout by positioning a box. Positioning is either static, relative, fixed, or absolute. A Float is another layout technique that allow you to place boxes within the flow so that the existing content flows around the floated box, like water around a big rock in a river.

Cross-Platform Issues and Browser Differences

Fill this in.... Test in the major browsers and platforms where appropriate. Required: Win = IE, FF. Mac = Safari, FF. Camino? Opera. Font support. Colors. CSS. Hacks for browsers. Give examples!

Printing (and alternate style sheets)

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Accessibility

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Validation: validating your HTML and CSS against standards.

Fill this in....This will talk about validating your HTML and CSS code -- verifying that your pages are designed to the Web standards.