Ideal default content area width for a site with tons of forms
I'm doing work on a staffing related website that uses lots of forms. The forms are pretty integral to every aspect of the site--from entering work history to filling out job applications.
This has presented an interesting dilemma for me regarding the width of the site. Here are the basic components of the dilemma:
It seems like forms feel more "cumbersome" when they span a lot of horizontal distance as opposed to a lot of vertical distance. Therefore it seems ideal to have the forms have a mid-to-small overall width.
If I set the overall width of the site to the width that would be (imo) optimal for the forms (since forms are integral on the site), the site seems a bit too thin for today's large monitors.
If I have the overall site width be a bit more normal for modern sites, and just have the form in a narrower width block that's positioned centered (i.e.
margin: 0 auto;) to the rest of the content, the forms margins obviously don't line up with the margins of the other text/content on the page.
My current solution is to just disregard #3 and have the margins not line up. But I can't help but feel there may be a better solution.
Something that complicates things even more is that the site uses a centered white content area on a background--so anything I do is positioned inside that. Unfortunately I believe that this is a non-negotiable aspect of the design for my client.
What's a good solution for this dilemma?
EDIT: I'm asking in regards to the full "desktop" size. Phone and tablet sizes will scale down as needed.