Comments on: Website Alignment – How Do You Like It

By: shah

shah — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 10:41:43 +0000

just browsed for the topic. a topic so central to the web development but no one has fully understood. why are search engine usually left aligned?

By: Matt

Matt — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 20:42:26 +0000

Left-aligned websites are seriously annoying to look at on larger monitors. It’s like going to the movies and having all the action framed way off the the side. I don’t get it.

I’m just imaging the design agency executives selling the bank executives on “It just feels more stable and solid, man, trust me, it’s so awesomely symbolic. Your welcome for our brilliant point of view.”

I defy any designer to come here and justify (heh) a left-aligned site over a centered design.

By: Jesse Van Hiller

Jesse Van Hiller — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 19:09:24 +0000

I suppose it really depends on what the use of the site is.

While my own preference is for a center-aligned design, what are the needs of the user? Are there language considerations? Behavioral considerations? Business considerations?

While design for design’s sake is good conversation, you can’t forget to consider the end user in your discussions, even for artistic expression.

By: fred

fred — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 22:51:12 +0000

If it is minimal, ie – plain backgroudn , then i prefer left aligned, can’t stand text just stuck in the middle of nowhere it is diffiult to read, at least when it is left aligned I have the browser window t provide a visual border.

When I use dreamweaver, visual studio, etc, most o fmy time is spent lookign left, and do I notice it? Of course not. Just liek I don’t notice it when I’m on Google…

By: Farid Hadi

Farid Hadi — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 17:03:32 +0000

Oh man I wish I had found your blog earlier!
Sadly the poll isn’t there anymore, I guess I’m really too late
My vote would also have gone for center-aligned.

Farid Hadi’s last blog post..Deep Blue – Free WordPress Theme

By: Paul - UK Shore

Paul - UK Shore — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 21:11:48 +0000

Poll doesn't seem to be there? Just says 'poll id=2'. I would have voted for centre aligned as most others did. Paul - UK Shore's last blog post..Kent coast

By: Carlo

Carlo — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 09:35:16 +0000

Isn’t there a psychological proof or something? Comments like “It doesn’t feel right”, “It just doesn’t look right” will not convince the managers of Vodafone, they need eye-tracking,user tests,a/b-testing or some scientific evidence that centered sites perform better/have higher conversion rates then left-aligned fixed width sites.

Wouldn’t it be nice to throw a survey and ask the top 100 online e-commerce sites why they choose to have a left-aligned site/centered site? I am also curious why some big sites are still using the left-aligned layout.

By: John Pash

John Pash — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 17:02:11 +0000

Brian, the examples of left-aligned websites got me thinking about my bank website, and it is also left-aligned. So I did a quick search for the word "bank" and lo-and-behold...that majority of bank websites (in my country) are left-aligned. So either they do this on purpose to give a sense of "stability", which is pretty important in a bank. Or, because banks tend to be stuck in the old ways, and mired down in bureaucracy which caused the pace of change to be glacial. John Pash's last blog post..Mac users are more smarter

By: Brian Yerkes

Brian Yerkes — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 14:23:17 +0000

Thanks you everyone for your votes and comments. Looks like as of today a whopping 90% of my site visitors think center aligned websites are the way to go.

I agree that center aligned site are much easier on the eye, when a majority of the most visited sites on the web are center aligned. When I come across a left aligned site, my eyes feel strange and uncomfortable for some reason. With a large monitor also, there is a lot of empty white space in the right half of the screen and it just doesn’t look right.

There are some big sites that are left aligned though out there :

https://www.bankofamerica.com/index.jsp
http://vodafone.ie/

By: Patareco

Patareco — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 01:54:37 +0000

I prefer center, but there are nice left aligned sites , it really depends the way it is structured overall