Choosing screen / page size for projects
Introduction
You will need to choose your project screen size to suit your minimum end-user system profile. So what is the smallest screen size your end user is likely to have?
There a number of web sites including marketshare.hitslink.com with statistics that can help you. Remember, there are still a considerable number of users with monitors capable of 800 x 600 pixels only maximum.
Click here for more detailed information on profiling end-users.
How to choose
You need to set the size of your page, screen or "stage" so that your end-user has to scroll the window as little as possible. Here are a few guidelines ...
- Avoid setting a size that requires the end-user to have to scroll horizontally (left to right)
- Try to size your index (or menu) page so that no scrolling is necessary
- Use vertical scrolling only wherever necessasary
- If your page is very long (height), use in-page page specific navigation links and anchor points within the page to navigate around it
- Remember to take account of the browser window menu bar and side bars when sizing your web sites
Click here for more on screen resolution concepts .
14 and 15 inch monitors
If you take into account the fact that there are still a lot of end-users with monitors capable of 800 x 600 only (15" monitors), and some screen space is taken up by the browser window side bars and toolbar, you may find that these project sizes are the most appropriate ...
760 pixels width
490 pixels high (try to always use this for your index/menu page, subsequent pages can scroll)
17 inch+ monitors
However, many western (richer!) surfers will have 1024 x 768 capable monitors and a so you can use these sizes ...
960 pixels width
600 pixels high (try to always use this for your index/menu page, subsequent pages can scroll)
Using favelets
You can use Favelets to help you check your project is fitting on your target end-user screen size. Click here for more on Favelets.
Related downloads
Useful desktop image
Download a desktop image (suitable for monitors set to 1024 x 768) to help you develop for different end-user monitor resolutions ...
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