Are Grid Systems Wrong?
I am currently in the process of finishing up a project and have started to question the ‘correctness’ of grid systems. Although they are extremely powerful, I see a number of flaws (this discussion targets the 960 Grid System):
New Markup
Grid systems require the introduction of new markup into the HTML (adding ‘grid-2’ to class variables, etc.). This is especially bad HTML to inject because it is non-semantic (adds no meaning). A possible workaround is to switch to using smarter stylesheets with SASS and compass, however for many projects this isn’t an option.
Annoying Layouts
Grid systems rely on having ‘gutters’ between elements. Unfortunately this can make integrating with non grid system elements a pain. One solution is to switch to using a more precise grid system (Blueprint CSS offers more granularity and fixes some of the gutter issues).
Commitment Issues
The last criticism of grid systems pertains more to design decisions. Once a designer (or developer) starts using grid systems they get hooked. Just because the grid system can format a beautiful about page, does not mean it should be used within the core of an application.
Conclusion
Although the above issues are serious, life is much better with grid systems. Use them, but use them carefully.
