what size for a web page

niccy

Our son (13) runs our website, but at the moment we are having trouble deciding what size screen people use.

is there a web size page that suits all monitors (so all infomation on our pages is viewable)

hope this makes perfect sense:o

the programs he uses are net objects fusion 7 and (i think ) wise ftp

what bought this up, is a background picture that we now use but it effectively starts again if the screen is my lappy

secretdancer

It's usually best to design for low screen resolutions (i.e. 800x600) like the bbc does. At 800 x 600 everything should be visible width wise. Browsers, monitors and resolutions vary so much that there isn't a one size fits all other than something as low as 800 x 600.

startrekker

Bit of info HERE as well

martindow

There are two approaches here. One is to use percentages for widths so that the page stretches to fit the screen resolution. This seems a good solution but it can cause incredibly long and difficult to read lines and also the layout breaking with very small or very large screens. The other method is to design for the smallest screen size to avoid making people scroll. Very few people use browsers less than 800px wide. It is best to make the page 750 or 760px to allow for browser chrome

Astaroth

Ultimately the choice is yours.

As martindow says you either make everything a percentage of the screen which can make it very messy when rendered on the screen or go for a fixed resolution.

If you go for option 2 then you have to make a judgement call on if you want to have a small width so that it will fit on everyones screen but will look a bit silly on people who have a high res wide screen monitor or you make the call to set it up for a higher size and accept that 17% of people will have to scroll horizontally.

Current screen resolution data can be found 1/2 way down:

http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_stats.asp

cookie_monster_8

i usually make my width 780px as it fits perfectly on a 800*600 res and looks decent centered on other resolutions but it may be dependent on what content you need to add. although i think other users have posted some good info here

niccy

startrekker wrote:

Bit of info HERE as well

haha:rotfl: bit of info:rotfl:

are well, i asked the question HE can sort it out :T

niccy

Astaroth wrote:

Ultimately the choice is yours.

As martindow says you either make everything a percentage of the screen which can make it very messy when rendered on the screen or go for a fixed resolution.

If you go for option 2 then you have to make a judgement call on if you want to have a small width so that it will fit on everyones screen but will look a bit silly on people who have a high res wide screen monitor or you make the call to set it up for a higher size and accept that 17% of people will have to scroll horizontally.

Current screen resolution data can be found 1/2 way down:

http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_stats.asp

am i reading this right, that display resolution 1024 x768 seems to be more the "norm " now, so is that what we should aim for ( i'm trying to "future proof" now:rolleyes: )

Astaroth

It is the most common at the moment.... the question to be answered is do you give the majority of people an excellent experience and possibly put the people with below average resolutions a hard time or do you possibly compromise on layout/ look for the larger screen resolutions but know more or less 100% of people can use it without issue.

It is not a simple one to answer

sdj25

I would go back to relative simplicity. Don't have a picture as a background - in my experience, unless done well - they do not look that good. Take a look at the most popular sites, and see what they do with theirs.

I agree with secretdancer - keep it to 800*600, as then you will keep almost all your users / viewers happy.

wolfman

I'd probably go with 800x600 too.

As to whether to use a liquid or fixed design, that's up to you. I tend to go for fixed designs as they're generally easier to do.