Best Directory Width?

Im just about to start the design of a new niche directory an im wondering (as im going to make it fixed width in design) what is the best resolution to aim the design towards?

800? 1024? or do we all prefer to see 100% scalable designs?

 

http://forums.digitalpoint.com/showthread.php?t=210229

 

Yer i know, but i've always believed that you should essentially base your resolution on the people viewing it - hence the majority of home users (surfing usual sites) would have a res of 800x600 as its the standard setup for a new computer (although i suppose this is starting to sway towards 1024x678 due to the change in monitor size and better specs).

From a directory point of view though is it not mainly webmasters accessing and using directories, hence surely the 800x600 resolution is unlikely?

 

Go for fluid design.

 

I bought a new monitor recently, it's actually a 19" widescreen. These things are pretty cheap now, so I imagine a lot of people will be using something similar or even larger. My current resolution is 1280 x 768.

A lot of people will be accessing the internet on laptops, which tend to have smaller screens, and even via mobile phones. Then they will go home and surf using monitors with a much larger screen size. If your design is going to be fixed, you'll have to settle for your website looking odd for perhaps the majority of visitors.

 

I think era of 800x width is gone now.
Start with at least 1024x and better make it scalable for higher resolution.

 

800px got my vote.

 

800px for a user friendly site

 

Fluid design that supports 800x600 is best solution.
If you choose fixed width I would go with 1024x768.

As for directories, where visitors are webmasters with latest computer equipment I am counting on bigger screens.

 

I am an 1920x1200 user so... my opinion is a liquid design matching the screen would be a best choice for me. 1024 is (was) the most common used but it's a little deprecated.

 

Well ive gone for the 1024 width for my new real estate directory design... hopefully should have it up and running in a couple of weeks when i can find the time to finalise the design.

As for the screen i myself am looking to get rid of my two old monitors and get a nice big 20 or 22 inch flat screen...

 

800x600 for maximum usability (everybody hates scrolling horizontally) but I guess most directory users would by now be using at least 1024x768 so that would be OK.

 

Fluid width is better than Fixed width, but not all directories are fluid, next choice is 1024.

 

I agree with fluid design.

 

100% scalable are the best, they are viewed right by all visitors.
But its a bit hard to code...

 

I checked my website stats and there is onlt less then 6% people using 800x600, so i think that this screen resolution is getting less and less important.

 

well, i think 1024 px , is good. you dont have to scorll down.

 

I would suggest to go for a fluid one which can autosize in any browser, if its possible