CoffeeCup - HTML Editor, Flash & Web Design Software

First off, if you're using VisualSite Designer and are having this problem between Firefox and Internet Explorer, you should upgrade to the latest version of VisualSite Designer. As of version 5.74 (and later), VSD handles most of this for you. Even still, though, the information below remains valid.

It's fairly common that misalignment occurs in web design... it's something web designers have had to deal with especially since every web browser will render a the same page differently. There are techniques that designers have come up with that minimizes the misalignment of objects and text on their pages. Here are a few of them:

• Make sure you know the dimensions of your page before you begin. Knowing where and how you can work within your own boundaries can help a great deal.
• Use only "web safe" fonts. These are fonts that are installed on almost every computer, so they are sure to display properly for all users. You can view a list of web safe fonts here:
  Mac and Windows Web-Safe Fonts
• Give your elements plenty of room. This doesn't mean hundreds of pixels in between each object, but it's good to give at least a few pixels of padding to your objects. This ties in to the next response:
• Find or build a good design that most current browsers will display most similarly. A good initial design is the best way to make sure you avoid page mix-ups.
• Frequently test and preview your work. While building or designing a website, it's good to test practically every change you make in several different web browsers so you don't end up with a finished product that needs much work to make align properly.

These are only the basics. There is a whole lot (a -whole- lot) to web design... any designer can benefit from doing any amount of research, but sometimes it's difficult to know where to start. Here are a few links to look at to help you learn some good design techniques:

Web Page Design for Designers
HTML Goodies
W3 Schools
Web Design from Scratch Web 2.0 Design Syle Guide
Learn About HTML
(Give that last link some time, it's a very large file!)

Some of the links talk about coding, but if you use VisualSite Designer you can still learn some good design techniques from them.