With the introduction of scrolling effects, Muse users are focusing more heavily on creating long, single page websites that use anchor tags for navigation. Clicking an anchor will automatically scroll the page down to a defined content area. This is a great feature to use on your site, however recently we're seeing an increase in support tickets related to these anchor navigation systems, and specifically sites not staying centered when a user clicks a menu item.

Click here to view an example of the bug using our Milo template

Click a navigation item – the site will float far to the right side. This behavior is frustrating, however it’s easily fixed.

Why is this site sitting so far to the left! 

Step 1 – Zoom Out

Zoom out on your site, as far as you can go (50%). We need to inspect the site for elements that are floating outside of the site margins.

Step 2 – Select All

Click Edit > Select all to select all of the elements in your site. When an element is selected, its container is highlighted and this makes it easier to see empty frames or small elements.

Scroll down through the site, and look for small items that are floating off the far left or right side.

Here’s an example

Step 3 – Delete Stray Elements

It’s easy to accidentally draw a small text box or move an element outside of your site boundaries (and then forget about it). If you come from a print background, you probably use your extra canvas space in Illustrator or InDesign to store unused elements - I sure do!  Delete anything that exists outside of the site margins, or simply move the element back inside.  99% of the time this is the culprit that causes layout shifts with long, single page navigation systems.

Always remember to keep your working file tidy, and delete out any empty frames or unused text boxes. Overlapping layers and elements floating away from the site boundaries can cause major headaches when you publish your site.

Good luck!

Cheers,
Steve Harris