I've been using a three column WP template to keep everything from dragging the sidebar a mile down the page and so I can shuffle ads and important links together but I was wondering how many people find three columns to be overwhelming?

Do you prefer a one column with maybe navigation in a second or two content and navigation or three content with navigation horizontal? Does your screen size and resolution have anything to do with your choice?

I've always preferred three columns. It seems the page is nicely balanced and it looks more user friendly this way. I have attempted using one column with navigation in the second but it just doesn't look right to me that way. So, I went back to three columns and kept it at that.

Just like most other matters of web page layout: it depends on how much content is on the page and how the existing space is used.

A three-column layout can look clean and easy to use if the three columns are not all stuffed with content and links. A two-column layout can look hopelessly cluttered and overly busy if both main areas are a jumble of links, images, content...you name it.

You might try collapsing some of your navigation sections, to keep the navbar uncluttered. Presenting users with too many choices can be just as bad as presenting them with too few - people are overwhelmed, they may not know exactly where to go to get to the content they seek, so they'll either poke around randomly or they'll leave. Collapsing some of your navigation sections, or putting them in popout menus, can make the page look less cluttered *and* take care of the ever-growing sidebar problem you mentioned, but still keep all your navigation choices available.

Collapse your navigation, minimize "movement" on your pages (don't have more than three elements that are animated in some fashion), don't overfill all of your columns (don't have as much ads and navigation as content, for example), and you'll find that either two or three columns can work well without being overwhelming to the user.

It's all a balancing act.

I have been a three be for a good time now for personal use, it always depends what type of blog you are setting up IMHO. I have lately moved my own to a 1 colum and having issues getting use to it, not that its bad or anything but very new to me and Im used to a ton of stuff rather than just some stuff.

I don't have anything animated. Nothing that makes noise or scares people off, personally they dive me nuts. A flyout navigation is about as fancy as my own sites get for the most part (minus a couple animated isoncs and a page just for youtube feeds).

The two secondary columns have a couple sections with a small ad at the bottom and links in the one for blogroll, affiliates, etc. I have five posts showing at most so I try to keep the columns a bit shorter than the average length of the posts.