What Size is Normal?

[JW]

In response to a recent posting, Rob Giordano posed the question: "What
size is normal?" Although unrelated to the original posting, I'd appreciate
some feedback from the experts regarding "normal" - or perhaps recommended -
page width. Many moons ago, I was taught to build table-based webs that
would display on 800X600 monitors without horizontal scrolling. For me, that
usually translated to table widths of 750-760 px. These usually also display
fine on 1024X768, although having an abundance of white space. I can only
imagine what they look like on higher res monitors.

Given today's technology, what's the latest thinking on page widths? Is
800X600 still a valid consideration, or has it pretty much gone the way of
640 resolution monitors? All thoughts and comments are appreciated.

 

[Jon Spivey]

I wouldn't give up on 800*600 yet. My own stats only track screen res rather
than actual window size and i see about 10% on 800, add to that people with
larger res that don't have maximised windows and you have a good chunk of
users. That said I tend to design sites that will display in 800 but look
better in a bit larger. The ideal customer is usually one who has an 1024
(at least) screen.

 

[Windsun]

Just set the pages and tables to a percent width instead of fixed. About 9%
still use 800.

 

[Murray]

I like fixed width, centering pages. I design 760px wide.

 

[JW]

Thanks, Murray. That's about where I've been. Just wasn't sure it was still
relevant. I'm not a big fan of % width, guess I'm just too much of a control
freak. I've seen some %-width sites go seriously weird as they move from
800X monitors to very high res monitors, particularly if there are several
images scattered around the page.

 

[Windsun]

I hate fixed width. They look really ugly at 1280


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[Murray]

Not when your browser is only 800px wide. They look perfect.

 

[Windsun]

but nobody uses 800 any more....


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[Stefan B Rusynko]

Incorrect
- Monitor resolutions maybe be larger but web page design / viewing do not have anything to do w/ monitor resolution (it is all
about the users web browser view port)

--

_____________________________________________
SBR @ ENJOY (-: [ Microsoft MVP - FrontPage ]
"Warning - Using the F1 Key will not break anything!" (-;
To find the best Newsgroup for FrontPage support see:
http://www.frontpagemvps.com/FrontPageNewsGroups/tabid/53/Default.aspx
_____________________________________________


| but nobody uses 800 any more....
|
|
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------
| | > Not when your browser is only 800px wide. They look perfect.
| >
| > --
| > Murray
| > --------------
| > MVP FrontPage
| >
| >
| > | >>I hate fixed width. They look really ugly at 1280
| >>
| >>
| >> -------------------------------------------------------------------------
| >> | >>>I like fixed width, centering pages. I design 760px wide.
| >>>
| >>> --
| >>> Murray
| >>> --------------
| >>> MVP FrontPage
| >>>
| >>>
| >>> | >>>> In response to a recent posting, Rob Giordano posed the question:
| >>>> "What size is normal?" Although unrelated to the original posting, I'd
| >>>> appreciate some feedback from the experts regarding "normal" - or
| >>>> perhaps recommended - page width. Many moons ago, I was taught to build
| >>>> table-based webs that would display on 800X600 monitors without
| >>>> horizontal scrolling. For me, that usually translated to table widths
| >>>> of 750-760 px. These usually also display fine on 1024X768, although
| >>>> having an abundance of white space. I can only imagine what they look
| >>>> like on higher res monitors.
| >>>>
| >>>> Given today's technology, what's the latest thinking on page widths? Is
| >>>> 800X600 still a valid consideration, or has it pretty much gone the way
| >>>> of 640 resolution monitors? All thoughts and comments are appreciated.
| >>>>
| >>>>
| >>>
| >>>
| >>
| >>
| >
| >
|
|

 

[Tom Willett]

...adding to Stefans comments: echoecho.com shows 28% still using 800
--
Tom Willett
Microsoft MVP - FrontPage
FrontPage Support: http://www.frontpagemvps.com/
----------

Incorrect
- Monitor resolutions maybe be larger but web page design / viewing do not
have anything to do w/ monitor resolution (it is all
about the users web browser view port)

--

_____________________________________________
SBR @ ENJOY (-: [ Microsoft MVP - FrontPage ]
"Warning - Using the F1 Key will not break anything!" (-;
To find the best Newsgroup for FrontPage support see:
http://www.frontpagemvps.com/FrontPageNewsGroups/tabid/53/Default.aspx
_____________________________________________


| but nobody uses 800 any more....
|
|
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------
| | > Not when your browser is only 800px wide. They look perfect.
| >
| > --
| > Murray
| > --------------
| > MVP FrontPage
| >
| >
| > | >>I hate fixed width. They look really ugly at 1280
| >>
| >>
|| >> | >>>I like fixed width, centering pages. I design 760px wide.
| >>>
| >>> --
| >>> Murray
| >>> --------------
| >>> MVP FrontPage
| >>>
| >>>
| >>> | >>>> In response to a recent posting, Rob Giordano posed the question:
| >>>> "What size is normal?" Although unrelated to the original posting,
I'd
| >>>> appreciate some feedback from the experts regarding "normal" - or
| >>>> perhaps recommended - page width. Many moons ago, I was taught to
build
| >>>> table-based webs that would display on 800X600 monitors without
| >>>> horizontal scrolling. For me, that usually translated to table
widths
| >>>> of 750-760 px. These usually also display fine on 1024X768,
although
| >>>> having an abundance of white space. I can only imagine what they
look
| >>>> like on higher res monitors.
| >>>>
| >>>> Given today's technology, what's the latest thinking on page
widths? Is
| >>>> 800X600 still a valid consideration, or has it pretty much gone the
way
| >>>> of 640 resolution monitors? All thoughts and comments are
appreciated.
| >>>>
| >>>>
| >>>
| >>>
| >>
| >>
| >
| >
|
|

 

[Murray]

My 1280 screen almost never has a browser viewport wider than 740px. My Mac
certainly never uses a maximized viewport, and neither does *any* Mac user -
ever.