PSD template size?

I'm just getting started with making psd website templates so I was wondering if there's a specific size I should use when I make one.
I'm also wondering if the psd should just be layered or sliced so its ready to be used. What do designers generally include with the psd?

 

There is no standard size for a PSD, that said most will mark off where the page fold is going to be so that it is easy to see what a user will see when they hit the page and what they are going to have to scroll down to see.

 

Thanks for the reply

I assume width is important because what looks good on one resolution looks horrible on another. Do people still expect designs to work for 800x600?

 

If you open Photoshop there are preset available when you create a new file.r 800 (750pix) and 1024pix(950pix) width is right choice.

 

@Nora

People still expect a design to work for 800x600. asterix is correct you can use the preset Photoshop has but in any case you are still not sure what to use, just enter a width of 750px and atleast 500px for the height.

 

Some design for 800width but many have moved on to 1024. The problem with either is that you have an assumption that the person has the window maximised where a user may only have it at 50% screen width.

A consideration going forward is also for PDA/ Smart Phone where they see full websites and not just WAP but have very low res screens.

You need to look at your target market, a site aimed at "western" countries high end gamers are most likely to have vistors from this group who have top machines. Aim it at debt management in poorer countries and they will more likely have lower resolution/ older kit

 

Thanks for the information everyone
It cleared up a lot for me.

 

800x600 this will do for every resolution.

 

You should follow a grid system, I set all templates for the web at 960pixels wide.

Read this for more: http://www.cameronmoll.com/archives/001220.html

 

Always a consideration for Web page authors considering that approx. (depending on the data source) 10% of current PC users employ 800x600 screens -- a very large number of potential visitors to your pages that you do not want to irritate (or lose) by requiring them to have to continuously horizontally scroll in order to read all the page content.

James

 

Not at all, my PDA is 640x480 and other than for work is the most common browser I used

 

700x700ish i usually do

 

Newer computer screen conformations and smaller viewing devices are necessitating more flexible/fluid Markup & CSS authoring these days. Of particular interest is the use of cell phones to browse web pages. The Opera Web pages: Opera Mobile Browser and Small Screen Rendering Technology are excellent references, the latter one being especially valuable for Windows O/S Web authors. The Apple IPhone uses a mini Web Browser by Safari

Hand-held mobile devices such as the Blackberry 8800, Curve, Pearl 650, etc. employ Web Page Small Screen Rendering which can be emulated in Firefox via drop-down menu selection: Tools> Web Developer> Miscellaneous > Small Screen Rendering (or via Miscellaneous> Small Screen Rendering from the drop-down menu in Chris Pederick's Web Developer add-on). The same facility is available in Opera via View> Small screen (toggle) from the drop-down menu.

I always check my web pages to be sure they function satisfactorily -- or at least don't break -- in representative devices or their emulations.

James

 

800x600

!!

 

We cannot go for 640*480 because of PDA application.we have to generalize the things on the basis of maximum no of Internet users.
Or
you can make a website with flexible weight but not advisable.

 

i ahve a wii, and when i go online with that the regular resolution is like 640 x 700 or something like that, but it has zoom, so i can zoom in and out, why, here at DP, i have to zoom out 4 times just to see a whole post.