Here are three variations of example Master page layouts that I have setup in asp.net, the pages are using divs and formating to create a table like layout of the information the page. Using <div> tags and CSS formatting I think you are able to more control over your codes visual representation.
This is a one column master page with the navigation menu setup down the left side of the content column.
<%@ Master Language="C#" AutoEventWireup="true" CodeFile="SiteMaster1.master.cs" Inherits="SiteMaster" %>
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en">
<head runat="server">
<title></title>
<link href="~/Styles/Master1SS.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<asp:ContentPlaceHolder ID="HeadContent" runat="server">
</asp:ContentPlaceHolder>
</head>
<body>
<form runat="server">
<div id="wrapper">
<div id="headerWrapper">
<div style="vertical-align: middle;">
<h1>Media Center of The Universe</h1>
</div>
</div>
<div id="contentWrapper">
<div class="menu">
<asp:Menu ID="NavigationMenu" runat="server" Orientation="Vertical" StaticDisplayLevels="2" MaximumDynamicDisplayLevels="2">
<LevelMenuItemStyles>
<asp:MenuItemStyle CssClass="menuLevel"/>
<asp:MenuItemStyle CssClass="menuLevel"/>
<asp:MenuItemStyle CssClass="menuLevel"/>
</LevelMenuItemStyles>
<Items>
<asp:MenuItem NavigateUrl="~/Default.aspx" Text="Home" />
<asp:MenuItem NavigateUrl="~/Pages/Media.aspx" Text="Media">
<asp:MenuItem NavigateUrl="~/Pages/Pictures.aspx" Text="Pictures">
<asp:MenuItem NavigateUrl="~/Pages/PicsNew.aspx" Text="New Pictures" />
<asp:MenuItem NavigateUrl="~/Pages/PicsOld.aspx" Text="Old Pictures" />
<asp:MenuItem NavigateUrl="~/Pages/PicCategories.aspx" Text="Categories" />
</asp:MenuItem>
<asp:MenuItem NavigateUrl="~/Pages/Videos.aspx" Text="Videos" />
</asp:MenuItem>
<asp:MenuItem NavigateUrl="~/Pages/About.aspx" Text="About" />
</Items>
</asp:Menu>
</div>
<div class="content">
<asp:ContentPlaceHolder ID="MainContent" runat="server" />
</div>
<div class="clear" />
</div>
<div id="footer">
Media Center of The Universe Footer
</div>
</div>
</form>
</body>
</html>
Here is what the above layout will look like with my CSS formatting.
Here is a layout for a two column master page with a variation in the menu placement, across the top of the two content column.
<%@ Master Language="C#" AutoEventWireup="true" CodeFile="SiteMaster2.master.cs" Inherits="SiteMaster" %>
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en">
<head id="Head1" runat="server">
<title></title>
<link href="~/Styles/Master3SS.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<asp:ContentPlaceHolder ID="HeadContent" runat="server">
</asp:ContentPlaceHolder>
</head>
<body>
<form id="Form1" runat="server">
<div id="wrapper">
<div id="headerWrapper">
<h1>One Column Master</h1>
</div>
<div id="bodyWrapper">
<div class="menu">
<asp:Menu ID="NavigationMenu" runat="server" CssClass="menu" EnableViewState="false"
IncludeStyleBlock="true" Orientation="Vertical">
<Items>
<asp:MenuItem NavigateUrl="~/Default.aspx" Text="Home" />
<asp:MenuItem NavigateUrl="~/About.aspx" Text="About" />
</Items>
</asp:Menu>
</div>
<div id="contentWrapper">
<div class="content1">
<asp:ContentPlaceHolder ID="MainContent" runat="server" />
</div>
<div class="content2">
Hello
</div>
<div class="clear"></div>
<div id="footer">Footer</div>
</div>
<div class="clear"></div>
</div>
</div>
</form>
</body>
</html>
Here is what the above layout looks like.
Here is a layout for another two column master page with the menu placement next to the left side of the two content columns.
<%@ Master Language="C#" AutoEventWireup="true" CodeFile="SiteMaster2.master.cs" Inherits="SiteMaster" %>
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en">
<head id="Head1" runat="server">
<title></title>
<link href="~/Styles/Master3SS.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<asp:ContentPlaceHolder ID="HeadContent" runat="server">
</asp:ContentPlaceHolder>
</head>
<body>
<form id="Form1" runat="server">
<div id="wrapper">
<div id="headerWrapper">
<h1>Master Page Layout 3</h1>
</div>
<div id="bodyWrapper">
<div class="menu">
<asp:Menu ID="NavigationMenu" runat="server" CssClass="menu" EnableViewState="false"
IncludeStyleBlock="true" Orientation="Vertical">
<Items>
<asp:MenuItem NavigateUrl="~/Default.aspx" Text="Home" />
<asp:MenuItem NavigateUrl="~/About.aspx" Text="About" />
</Items>
</asp:Menu>
</div>
<div id="contentWrapper">
<div class="content1">
<asp:ContentPlaceHolder ID="MainContent" runat="server" />
</div>
<div class="content2">
Hello
</div>
<div class="clear"></div>
<div id="footer">Footer</div>
</div>
<div class="clear"></div>
</div>
</div>
</form>
</body>
</html>
Here is the picture of the above layout.
More to Come, CA.