Aligning your Website Correctly

When Web developers think of alignment, most of them focus on align attribute or the CSS float property. However, you should understand that the way you align the elements on the page is just as important as whether or not the text is justified or the image you are using is floated to the left. The structural framework of any design is provided by arranging a proper alignment. This alignment affects how the page is presented and how it makes people feel when they look at it. Getting your message across effectively also depends on how the presentations on your page are aligned.
website alignment
website alignment

Website Alignment

Depending on your preferences and what your page is addressing, the page design can be structured with an obviously rigid design or it can have a softer and more subtle effect to the person viewing it. You can have some very memorable Web pages when you understand how to align elements in the most effective way. A clear understanding of this also helps you to be able to use it to your advantage in any way you choose.

There are five basic ways that you can take three simple elements and align them so that you are creating different looks of the designs. It is quite easy to do as you are only changing how the elements are placed and appear on the page. These five creations are as follows:

  • Flush Left: This means that everything you have on your page, whether it is text or photos, is aligned completely to the left side of the page. Organized and secure, this is the most commonly used alignment in any page layout.
  • Flush Right: This is when you align all photos and text totally to the right side of the page. It is not as commonly used as the Flush Left alignment and can make the design seem less conservative. Use the CSS float and clear properties to move all of the elements to the right. Then make them stay below each other.
  • Centered: You will use this alignment when all photos and/or texts appear in the center of the page. This is a very popular alignment for miami web design especially with beginning Web designers. For a conventional appearance, centering is definitely the way to go. However, be sure that your centering is very well done or it will appear flat to the viewer. Perfectly balanced alignments can create nothing interesting for the viewer to look at so you want to be careful of that. Centering is very easily done just by using CSS. Just keep in mind that if you are in doubt as to whether or not to center, do not do it.
  • Justified: These are layouts that closely resemble pages with centered text and/or photos. The difference is that justified layouts do not have the jagged edge to the text elements but rather are squared off on both sides. These have a more formal look than just the plain centered ones. Using a justified layout can make a page carry more of an elegant appearance.
  • Mixed Alignment: Many times you can choose to use different alignments on the same Web page. To accomplish this, you should simply play around with different alignments and see which ones work the best together. When done the right way, mixed alignments can offer a very interesting Web page for your viewers to enjoy and can attract quite a bit of attention.

The choice of what alignment you will use to create your Web page is totally up to you. However, in order to make sure the page or pages are as interesting as they can be, try a few different ways to see how they appear before committing yourself to a final decision