Left-aligned websites: are they really to be avoided?
Which is the optimal alignment for a website: right, left or central?
Obviously centrally-aligned, is not something new.
If I weren’t such an obstinate opposer, probably I’d limit myself to agreeing and admitting that yes, eventually centrally-aligned is better, thumbs-up to the centrally-aligned, no way to left-aligned websites.
Okay, the centrally-aligned layout is undoubtedly preferable for a series of logical reasons: a better distribution of spaces, major legibility, minor disorder for users who navigate the website, in the new monitors it is plain ugly to have the entire website stuck on the left and the rest of the screen (which is immense) empty, etc etc…
However, while I flip through css galleries, hungry as always for novelty, I don’t know why but the websites which attract me the most lately are those which have chosen the alignment on the left.
A matter of taste, I thought. Then I understood what it is instead.
It’s that, in an ocean of steady and obvious centrally-aligned websites, the anarchic and chaotic “left-sided” ones, stand out. And I like them.
Hence, although I am aware that probably this article will bring me a little bit of boooo! Shame on you!, I think that one of the websites I’m going to design in the future will be left-aligned.
With a beautiful background, maybe a nice picture for a photography website? Who knows, maybe one which occupies the entire screen, even in bigger resolutions, and the text in the middle distance, on the left.
We will see how it comes out.
Meanwhile, take a look at these websites – which I find really special – and tell me: what do you think?
Left alignment is to be avoided, no matter what, or can there be pleasant exceptions?
1. Jr Velasco
2. Squid Ink
3. Jeff Sarmiento
4. Colazione da Micky
5. Ola blog
6. Andy Thomas
7. I am Todd
8. My fotos
9. Doglas Menezes
10. Mc coy
11. Art Flavours
12. Abc baseball
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L'immagine principale dell'articolo è stata fornita da @Fotolia
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Keep posting stuff like this i really like it
Nice Stuff. I prefer, the left aligned websites are good for seo.
… What?! Left aligned sites have absolutely no affect on SEO, you have no clue what you’re talking about… at all… whatsoever..
When considering the left-aligned design, it’s important to ask yourself the question (since so many other sites are centre-aligned) – “Would this look better if the main content area were in the middle?”
While I think the answer is ‘Yes’, for many of these samples, the answer is clearly ‘No’ for sites that have under-utilised blank space, e.g. designs 2, 3, 4, 5, 7 and 10. 11 and 12 are (in my opinion) borderline, since the ‘blank’ spaces are textured.
While I used to prefer left-aligned designs, I have resigned myself to the functionality of centrally aligned sites. However, I was recently challenged with http://www.hydrocolgh.com to come up with a site that was acceptably left-aligned. What do you think? Did it work?
But in conclusion, I’m partial to left-aligned sites too…but they’re had to pull off well.
Oops, the answers are supposed to be the other way round!
‘No’ for the first, and ‘Yes’ for the second.
Lovely designs.
WTF are these people thinking???? I run three monitors and my largest is a mac at 27″ (2560 wide) They all look like crap and are annoying as I look at 25% of my screen and I always have to turn my head. For mobile sites badly built yeah . But for the norm . C’mon