Margins Are A Must

Setting and working with margins can be tricky for new web designers.  After all, there are different browsers out there and individuals can set their monitors to display at various levels, not to mention that viewers can set the font size they wish to view. 

Many new web designers will opt for the simplest route to deal with margins: they will use tables.  Using tables that adhere to pixel width is one way to go, though you may end up annoying your viewers because of horizontal scrolling.  Another option is percentage formatting of tables which are more fluid, depending upon the size of the viewers browser window.   

Another, more professional, method of handling the display of content is the use of CSS.  This technique is also more conducive to website-wide design changes. 

How do you know if your margins need work?  If ten sentences of text only take up three lines on your full-window browser screen, it's a pretty good bet that you should consider a new format.  Some classic examples would be the standard newspaper column style and there are plenty of layouts that can look professional using CSS.  Don't forget to keep an eye on your background's natural borders too.