A wound dressing defining skin facing areas having different degrees of skin adherence. The dressing comprises a backing layer defining a center portion and a border portion surrounding the center portion. An absorbent core is connected to a surface of the backing layer within the center portion. The absorbent core may be exposed along a proximal surface of the wound dressing, or various adhesives and non-adhesive substrates may be applied along a proximal surface of the absorbent core.