Content resource: fixed layout is better

This will be a very short my post, in which, in the continuation of the long-standing cycle “rules for content projects” ( one and two times ), in which I want to fix one simple thought: the layout of content resources should be strictly tied to the width of text columns.

As you know, everything new is well forgotten old. Yes, not so forgotten. It is easy to see that the structure of the main page of any modern portal is not very different from the newspaper page - the same columns of different heights, arranged in a rectangular page. The need for such a layout in newspapers is understandable - imagine what it would be like to read text typed in newspaper fonts wide in the entire strip.

Another reason is the speed and simplicity of such a layout. For the web, where the number of updates is so large that it is simply impossible to make them manually, this is also relevant. Another thing is magazines - their periodicity of output allows each text to appear as a work of art, typing in any fonts and arranging text on the page as you like. In the web, incredibly complicated texts also began to appear - the trend, as always, came to us from the west, and took root on Russian soil with the participation of such resources as www.lookatme.ru and wos.ru , for example. But even they can not afford to impose all the texts individually, most of the materials will still be collected by the designer.
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Anyway, the king is content. In this case - the texts, not the wrapper in which they are served. And they must be readable, optionally easily worn. At the same time, many designers allow themselves to treat contentlessly with respect for content, making the speakers either too wide or stretching. Imagine if Aivazovsky’s steel would be pulled under the dimensions of a specific gallery: some have low ceilings, so we cut it vertically, others have long walls — so we stretch it.

The recommended width of the text column is 60-80 characters per line. It doesn't matter how many pixels or centimeters it is (although the font itself, of course, matters). Moreover, it is not important in connection with the release of Retina-displays. Just fix the width of the text column at this level throughout the site, and users will be grateful. They may not even understand why - but it will be more convenient for them to read the texts on your site than on any other.