What is the difference between reflowable and fixed-layout eBooks?

Reflowable is the default for eBooks. The text flows like a web page: when the reader changes the font size, typeface or screen orientation, the lines re-wrap and the number of "pages" changes. There are no fixed page numbers. This is ideal for text-led books — novels, memoirs and most nonfiction — because it adapts to phones, tablets and e-readers and respects readers' accessibility settings.

Fixed layout locks every element in place, so each page looks exactly as designed, the way a printed page does. Readers can zoom but cannot reflow text. It suits books where the relationship between text and image is the point: children's picture books, comics and graphic novels, photography books, and some cookbooks and textbooks with complex layouts.

The trade-offs are real. Fixed-layout books can be hard to read on small phone screens, may be less accessible to readers who need larger text, are usually larger files, and are not supported equally by every store or device. Some platforms limit which programs or features fixed-layout titles can use, so check the platform's current rules before you commit.

If your book is mostly text with a few images, choose reflowable and place images between paragraphs. Use fixed layout only when the design genuinely requires it.