Positioning of these elements is killing me !!!

I changed an absolute on my content id to relative to try & fix the issue with footer now it floats down there & I cant get it to simply sit under my #container2 tag

please help

here is a link to the page !! http://www.bitsmail.co.uk/saco/layout-test.html

here is the page with an absolute that works but does not allow the content area to change size !! http://www.bitsmail.co.uk/saco/default.htm

here is all the CSS

body {font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
font-size: 85%;
background: #FBFBF9;
margin: 0;
padding: 0;
color:#333;
;
z-index: 2;
background-image:url(../Graphics/Layouts/Layout11/Layout11_r4_c1_s1.png);
background-position:center;
background-repeat:repeat-y;
}
/*this is header container with header & links bar centered*/
#container1{ width:920px; background: #FFF; position:relative;
margin: 0 auto; padding:0px }
#header { height:118px; margin-top:0px; padding:0px;
background-image:url(../Graphics/Layouts/Layout11/Layout11_r1_c2_s1.png);
background-repeat:no-repeat;}
#linksbar { height:40px;
background-image:url(../Graphics/Layouts/Layout11/Layout11_r2_c2_s1.png);
background-repeat:no-repeat;
border-top:thin #050 solid;
padding:0px;}
/* this is middle section will contain all content boxes */
#container2 {width:920px;
position:relative;
top: -250px;
margin: 0 auto;
padding:0px;
z-index:5;}
#content {
position: relative;
z-index: 6;
left: 0px;
width:920px;
color:#F00;
}

#content-title {
float:left;
z-index: 7;
margin-left:10px;
margin-bottom:2px;
top: 0px;
width:570px;}

#content-left {
border:#D2D9D9 1.5px solid;
float:left;
z-index: 7;
margin-left:10px;
margin-top:-10px;
width:670px;
background-color:#FFF;
opacity: 0.85;
filter: progidXImageTransform.Microsoft.Alpha(opacity=50 );
}
#content-right {
border:#D2D9D9 1.5px solid;
float:left;
z-index: 7;
margin-left:10px;
margin-top:-10px;
width:180px;
background-color:#FFF;
opacity: 0.90;
filter: progidXImageTransform.Microsoft.Alpha(opacity=50 );
}

Am having serious positioning problems now

If you change the size of the screen res then everything sits wrong namely its the above problem that needs sorting out !!!

I'll try and say this as nice as possible, but you are having quite a large amount of basic CSS positioning errors. I would highly suggest looking at W3C schools or take a class on how to use CSS. We can help you with a few things here on the forum, but we can't code an entire site for you.

LOL - thanks 4 the advice - I went back to basics & got it all straightened out then placed the changes into my old code - think its sorted now

I was trying to cut corners & do things I have not done for awhile

normally I would create one main wrapper & have everything laid out inside it - the problem was the scrolling jscript wouldnt work inside so I ended up splitting it all up - it felt as messy as it ended up looking but think its straightened out now

Originally Posted by vultren

We can help you with a few things here on the forum, but we can't code an entire site for you.

Speak for yourself and not the community, it takes all of a few seconds to help someone solve basic errors and I have no problem doing it all day if it means getting another designer out into the world and making a profit. The more the merrier. Also, I'm sure you've noticed that most online "courses" only explain the basics, even if they call it "intermediate" or "expert" level courses ("cough" W3C schools "cough"). Also I'm pretty sure their CSS3 and CSS courses don't cover compatibility with a scrolling display script.

Ipundit - well thank you - I must confess was feeling disheartened with having to start all over again when I do feel I have a basic / intermediate knowledge already

but clearly had made a few mistakes & yes was sort of hoping someone would not just post a link to where to read up but actually point out what I was doing wrong.

As it turns out in absence of a response I dis start from scratch & while not perfect it does appear to work better now.

It still doesnt stick to the bottom of the screen when you alter the res on screen in the browser but it does work a lot better & now allows me to enter different amounts of content

feel free to help in future though

Read at the links in this post