Columns?

This is a modified 3-col template using absolute div positions. The background color of this div extends only to the end of its contents. That's just the way it is with divs.

Sidebar trick

The background color on this div is provided by a gif graphic that repeats for the entire length of the page. See the "small color gif" link on the left for details.

Dreamweaver & CSS

Adobe has a page full of links to "getting started" tutorials for Dreamweaver and CSS, including Stephanie Sullivan's articles about creating 2-column and 3-column layouts of your own. Each tutorial includes downloadable files to help you follow along. Try her special tricks like the "View CSS Backgrounds" menu, which puts random colors into divs so that you can see their boundaries. (Some of your style classes may apply only to one div, so knowing the boundaries is important.)

And see her trick of using a small color gif to force a background color in the right column, which I've used on this page. The gif image is as wide as the page, but just a few pixels high. It includes the vertical hairline rule to the left of this column.

Stephanie has another article explaining some behind-the-screen information about the layouts included with Dreamweaver. Prefer visuals to text? Here's a three-minute video tutorial on modifying layouts, adding "floated" images with wrap-around text, combining two style sheets, and using a built-in "code validator" to check for errors.

Many more links