I've got a good bit of the content prepared already, so I'm getting ready now to build the new Wordpress theme (non-blog style) for moving www.BizAmmo.com. I'm trying to make a decision though on the screen resolution to optimize for. Yes, I know fluid is best. But I'm not doing that, because I want a static look on the home page, and don't want that content adjusting, even though on the rest of the site it would be fine. My primary interest is in going with 1024x768, having a left nav column, the main content column, and then two right columns (to split up ads and things like related content blocks on article pages). I figure if I plan the column widths right, it would be a clean cut of the right column if someone's using 800x600, and they'd have to scroll for extra features as a convenience but nothing that's vital. The other option is to just use a 3 column layout, cut some of the features I wanted to add, and possibly annoy people using larger resolutions. So, between those two choices, for a content-based site (heavy article content), which would be the better option in your opinion? Jenn
Personally I'd choose the 1024x768, mainly because it's becoming more and more popular to purchase bigger screens, most people do. 800x600 would be tiny on these new bigger screens, especially mine.
That's what I was thinking. I just don't want to do something that's going to tick too many people off, and frankly, most of the business sites I see are still optimized for 800x600. I do definitely have more visitors with the higher res though.
If your (pc) screen resolution is properly set, about 96 pseudo pixels per inch, an 800px wide browser window will be the same physical size regardless of screen size. It will be about 8 inches wide. Measure it. It will take up a smaller proportion of the screen, but that's why you get the bigger screen, to be able to open more apps, all in view. For any site/page that's text oriented, an 800px width is nearly ideal. Pick up any book and measure the width of the column. It'll be about 5 inches. That's about 500px on the screen. Now pick up a newspaper and do the same. You'll get about 2½ inches, or 250px. The book column is designed for reading comfort and the newspaper column is designed for reading speed. Put them together, and you have your main column and a 'quick hits' column, all in a ≤800px page. cheers, gary
The problem with that is that there's more on the page than just the content. Like I said, there will be a 4 column layout if I work with the higher resolution, which would still leave about 500px for the actual text of the main content.
I like the idea of the bigger resolution with the right column being cut off. If it has a lot of content, you don't want the content to be cut off, only the extras for smaller resolutions. If your stats show a low percentage using 800x600 then you may as well optimize for larger resolutions but still ensure that small percentage of 800x600 users can still see the content without having to scroll each line of content they read
i personally don't like a site that i have to scroll to the side. Granted i use 1024x768 minimum, so it wouldn't be an issue with me... but when i see a site scrolling to the side, my first thought is to look for what's broken.
I kind of figured people would be a little bit torn. lol Thanks for the feedback though. I think I'm going to optimize for the higher resolution, and just have non-essential info like some of the ads and some site interlinking going on in the far right, so it gets cut off, and noone's "missing anything".
That's probably a reasonable, if not optimal, compromise. It is one that A List Apart uses. Just continue to remind yourself that the rez stats you see are screen size, not the browser window size. Don't be fooled by low numbers for smaller screen sizes. cheers, gary
I'd go with the 1024x768 option. As long as the main content and navigation are accessible to 800x600 users without having to scroll horizontally, I think you should be fine. Good luck with your site .