Is there any really simple clear way to design for 4x3 1024x768 monitors from a 16x10 1920x1200 monitor? I mean so that I can preview how it will look from the wide monitor on a 4x3 1024x768 screen?
I design my sites in Photoshop way before I start coding them. So I simply open a new canvas with the desired dimensions of the monitor that I'm designing for - I use a blank Firefox page as my template (in the desired res) so I can see what it will really look like in a browser. Use some letterboxing, and a bit of imagination, and you can turn your 1920x1200 into a 1024x768.
Just design for major screen of "1024 * 768" . General speaking , it will work in "1920x1200 " screen too .
if firefox, you can use the web developer's toolbar. This will let you automatically resize the browser window to 1024x768 or any other resolution you want, and you will see exactly how it will look on their screens.
yeah, use webdev toolbar. Just search for it in firefox's add-on window. It allows you to resize windows instantly to whatever dimensions you please, so you can set it to 1024, then click and it will be 1900, then click back. All real easy. Its also worth noting that text is harder to read when its in an area larger than about six inches, which means 800-1024 pixels on modern monitors. In fact on a 1280 monitor 1024 is a little too wide. So design for a 1024 width with a sidebar in the center and youre golden.