Full width nav bar vs fixed width

Question

I see a lot of websites where the main content and main menu bar (logo, menu, login/signup) have a fixed max width, even when the user is on a wide monitor (>= 1920px). The logo lines up with the content on the left and the login/signup links with the right. The fixed width might be around 1200px to 1500px.

I see other designs where the content is a fixed width (1200px to 1500px) but the nav bar is fluid and fills the width of the screen (>=1920px), so the logo and login/signup sit away from the content on right and left sides on large screens, like below:

My question is whether this is bad UX?

I am worried that the login/signup links, and to some extent the logo, get lost because they sit out by themselves.

Answer 1

I would say go with whatever pattern you are using for the content. If it has a fixed width then also fix the nav width. You can still have the nav background be 100% width. If the site will be fluid then makes sense for the nav to be fluid too.

When using a fluid approach though I would suggest having a max width set so it's not too ridiculous on massive ultra wide displays.

Answer 2

Sometimes it happens due to compatibility issues in the UX design or unequal divisions. Orientations should be more clear and eye catchy to the users as when the user gets engaged to the contents and wants to have a bookmarking in that respective site, the inappropriate UI makes them set back for registering themselves. Login and registration block should be clear, visible and within the same grid of content which will add a lead to the service.

Answer 3

People have a limited angle of vision, that is a physiological fact.

If the viewport is too wide and the elements grow to far apart the page becomes difficult to perceive as a whole. So yes, I consider your image above bad UX :-)
As a consequence a responsive design has to consider maximum widths and how to deal with very wide viewports as well as very small ones.