Layers

Lucy,

It's often best to let the browser determine the flow of the page. If you have a float element (layer) to the right of your page, the main body text should wrap around it. Of course, the page will look different if you have your browser window maximised, or restored to a smaller window. The same goes for a visitor with a massive monitor on high resolution, to that of a Windows 98 user who may have a resolution of 800x600. The page flow will be different.

So if you really want your page to display the same on every browser, you would need to used fixed width layers and absolute positioning.

As far as layers moving or appearing differently in different browsers, I would advise you to test your work in as many browsers and versions as possible, and learn the techniques, tips and tricks for avoiding such issues. Keeping it simple will help (eg. 2 or 3 columns).

Flash is an alternative if you have quite a complicated design.

Regards, Rich