I like sites that mix liquid width style and fixed width (centered) content. I vary my site's width with how much content there will be and try to balance the whitespace out with the amount of text/content, usually between 800 and 950 pixels wide.

As for landing page, I think it should highlight whatever is the most important part of your site. The first thing I should notice is what you do and if I'm interested, have a well defined navigation so I can learn more.

On a truly personal note, I love big footers from both a design and usability point of view :)