Better fill packaging

[duncan drennan]

I recently came across some great fill packaging which works well, is environmentally friendly and cheaper than the alternatives. Overall an excellent solution.

You can read all about Geami's fill packaging, and why it beats the pants off of expanded polystyrene on my blog.

P.S. I changed the layout of my blog, specifically to make it look a bit better on wider screens. If you have a wide screen, could you give me some feedback? And also, if you see any display errors, or have issues, please let me know.

[Dave A]

Great to see the innovative packaging. I wonder how it shapes up on the cost front?

The new layout: I'm a fan of a liquid layout, but it does come with its challenges. That right hand side column is long relative to the main content area - but having messed around with column lengths here, I know there is no easy answer to that. It's always a compromise.

No page errors as far as I could see.

[duncan drennan]

Great to see the innovative packaging. I wonder how it shapes up on the cost front?

Dave, have a look at their case studies - http://www.geami.com/profits/index.html

The new layout: I'm a fan of a liquid layout, but it does come with its challenges. That right hand side column is long relative to the main content area - but having messed around with column lengths here, I know there is no easy answer to that. It's always a compromise.

I've got the main column set to 69% and the right set to 29%. Smaller than that and I thought it might look at bit odd at lower resolutions (800x600). Any suggestions from your experience?

[Dave A]

The advantage of purely using % widths is that once balanced, the columns tend to stay fairly balanced no matter the width of screen.

For that particular page the problem will resolve with lots of comments. But I'd consider a 3 column format with the extreme right hand one a pretty narrow fixed width. You can mix % and fixed width column settings and it can produce some fun results.

[duncan drennan]

Oh, I actually misunderstood you. I thought you meant long width ways, but I realise you meant long length ways. If you look at the main page, then the alternate is true - the main section is much longer (height) than the right hand column.

[Dave A]

That's why it's always a juggle. I don't suppose you can customise it per page?

In any event it's not a big deal. In a funny way it means there is a higher likelihood of folks looking at the content of the column anyway.

[duncan drennan]

That's why it's always a juggle. I don't suppose you can customise it per page?

Little bit tricky with Blogger (don't think it can be done though). I suppose one gives up a little flexibility, but gains a stable platform which you don't have to maintain.

Most of the content in the right hand column is for navigation. The most important bit, "Subscribe now" is close to the top, although probably just below the fold for most people - I should maybe reconsider its placement. EDIT: decided to move it a bit higher.

Thanks for the feedback, it is appreciated

[Dave A]

Don't mess around. Place a subscribe now link at the top and the bottom.