Liquid two column layout

Lets see how to make a flexible 2 column layout with header and footer.

If you want to set a maximum width on your main content, you can do this by adding a new rule : "#content { max-width: 36em; }".

Although IE browsers will ignore this rule, other standards compliant browsers will not allow the content area to go wider that 36em - keeping the line length to a comfortable width.

CSS CODE
#container
{
width: 90%;
margin: 10px auto;
background-color: #fff;
color: #333;
border: 1px solid gray;
line-height: 130%;
}

#top
{
padding: .5em;
background-color: #ddd;
border-bottom: 1px solid gray;
}

#top h1
{
padding: 0;
margin: 0;
}

#leftnav
{
float: left;
width: 160px;
margin: 0;
padding: 1em;
}

#content
{
margin-left: 200px;
border-left: 1px solid gray;
padding: 1em;
max-width: 36em;
}

#footer
{
clear: both;
margin: 0;
padding: .5em;
color: #333;
background-color: #ddd;
border-top: 1px solid gray;
}

#leftnav p { margin: 0 0 1em 0; }
#content h2 { margin: 0 0 .5em 0; }


HTML CODE
<div id="container">
<div id="top">
<h1>Header</h1>
</div>
<div id="leftnav">
<p>
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut.
</p>
</div>
<div id="content">
<h2>Subheading</h2>
<p>
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna aliquam erat volutpat. Ut wisi enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exerci tation ullamcorper suscipit lobortis nisl ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis autem vel eum iriure dolor in hendrerit in vulputate velit esse molestie consequat, vel illum dolore eu feugiat nulla facilisis at vero eros et accumsan et iusto odio dignissim qui blandit praesent luptatum zzril delenit augue duis dolore te feugait nulla facilisi.
</p>
<p>
Ut wisi enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exerci tation ullamcorper suscipit lobortis nisl ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis autem vel eum iriure dolor in hendrerit in vulputate velit esse molestie consequat, vel illum dolore eu feugiat nulla facilisis at vero eros et accumsan et iusto odio dignissim qui blandit praesent luptatum zzril delenit augue duis dolore te feugait nulla facilisi. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna aliquam erat volutpat.
</p>
</div>
<div id="footer">
Footer
</div>
</div>