Content Management - Divs with variable content sizes... need help

[sethwb]

All the content out there on this topic seems to be tailored more towards beginners taking microscopic looks at various "block model" concepts without really addressing the issue...

I'm currently coding a front end for a gamers-team website. Everything seemed to be going smooth until we hit the pro shop page. :chomp:

The problem lies within each category page where the products will be listed. The site design we have so far has limited room, and since we are relying on a 3rd party online shop to list products (for now until we grow and have more resources to build our own), we are having trouble deciding how to structure the main content area (where the products will be listed).

My question then to you is 2 parts:

1. Is it possible to have parent elements/containing blocks automatically adjust to the growth of a child element?

2. Are there any other methods using valid CSS(NOT TABLES) out there that will allow us to list all of our products in their parent category (i.e. computer peripherals, video cards, etc.) without forcing the user to navigate through multiple pages of content?

- The reason I ask this is last question that we have limited bandwidth on our server so having dozens or even hundreds of visitors a day reloading the page would put us over our limit very quickly (yes we already have dozens of visitors per day).


Any other ideas or suggestions you may have I would appreciate as I am trying to learn xhtml/css & adobe all at once to get this site up and going! :tntworth:

-seth

[Medyman]

Is it possible to have parent elements/containing blocks automatically adjust to the growth of a child element?

It depends on your markup. Inline elements do this by default. Block-level elements do it to certain extent. For example, a div will resize vertically within the space provided to it to allow for it's child content to display. What does your markup look like for this section? How do you envision the parent elements resizing (vertically? horizontally?).


Are there any other methods using valid CSS(NOT TABLES) out there that will allow us to list all of our products in their parent category (i.e. computer peripherals, video cards, etc.) without forcing the user to navigate through multiple pages of content?

If I understand you right, this seems like a question regarding the ecommerce solution that you're using, it's capabilities and your design. There is no limitation withing HTML and/or CSS as to how you organize your website. If you want to group products together on the page, that's up to the HTML that you write (or that the ecommerce solution generates in this case).

If you question is how to create a tabular display using CSS, post a schematic of drawing of your desired layout, and someone might be able to help you further.