Posted by Kevin Trinkner on November 10, 2009 at 9:58 AM
I'm currently working on getting my site up and running.
I will be using a static bg image, and I'm wondering what size you guys set yours to? 1024 by 768 is probably a standard resolution on most home users computers.
Also, wondering what size you guys make your images for flash and galleries?
Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.
Kevin
Posted by Richard Ditch on November 10, 2009 at 10:46 AM
A static image and an assumed monitor size/resolution seems rather strict for the web IMO. Why not design with more flexibility in mind so that viewers have the freedom to use whatever monitor size they have or set window size to the way they want to work. I personally don't like web sites that are overly rigid.
Posted by Drew Fulton on November 10, 2009 at 10:52 AM
Kevin,
I've done a bit of research into website width recently as I've been working on a couple redesigns. As Richard mentioned, if you can make fluid and flexible, all the better. However, I decided I wanted a little more consistent approach. The gold standard for website widths used to be 768px so it would fit on an 800x600 screen with scroll bars. Today, when most screens are a minimum of 1024px wide that seems to have gone up to about 900px. FWIW, NPN is at 800px.
Hope that helps.
Drew
Posted by Jesse Speer on November 10, 2009 at 12:51 PM
Keep in mind that static background images can be made dynamic, with some simple tricks. For example, create a background that looks good in 1024x, but also at 1920x ... using very large image that looks good when cropped to any resolution. Abstract nature scenes, details and patterns are perfect. There are also other tricks like creating a fixed layout, but using a background image that scales with the browser window size.
1024 is still the standard, although creating fluid layouts that scale with the page is a good idea - if appropriate (doesn't always work for photography needs). 955 pixels is the max width I use. This accounts for other browser elements like scroll bars. 600-800 seems to be the favorite range for JPEG display, based upon the websites I design. I'd probably recommend 700 or 800 today, as monitors continue to grow.
Kevin,
I use percentages in style sheets for columns and images where I anticipate world wide users who may have different monitors, also for changing window sizes, it's one way of retaining relationships between screen items, regardless of how large or small the window is.
Of course there are limits, where too small a window will cause the items to mis-align,
Frank O'Donnell
Posted by Kevin Trinkner on November 10, 2009 at 10:22 PM
Thanks guys. I will admit I'm not designing the site, and I'm a little lost when it comes to how this all works...
I will have to chat with the guy building the site and ask what he knows about making things more dynamic. He mentioned I should use a standard size, and then blend the image to black on the edges so when people with larger monitors view it the edges just fade into black..
A fixed width site is easier to design. So, if you are paying someone to do the work, it will (hopefully) cost you less money. I like the idea of the 'fade-to-black' for the background.
Here are a few of things to keep in mind. First, keep your design (relatively) simple so that it is easy to maintain. Second, attempting to account for various screen resolutions will be difficult. Third, not everyone uses their browser full-screen, so care must be taken to prevent elements from being displaced as the viewport is increased or decreased in size. Fourth, be sure that columns that contain text are not fixed in height. If a viewer increases text size for readability, and column heights are fixed, your layout will blow up.
I hope this helps,
-P
Posted by Wim Reyns on November 12, 2009 at 7:50 AM
Preston hit the nail on the head saying that not everyone uses there browser fullscreen.
While screens seem to continually grow i tend to use programs at smaller sizes,
for instance i have a dual screen 24" setup, but when i browse the web my webbrowser only takes up half of one screen wich makes the 800px wide still a good width to adhere to imho.
Discussion
7 repliesI'm currently working on getting my site up and running.
I will be using a static bg image, and I'm wondering what size you guys set yours to? 1024 by 768 is probably a standard resolution on most home users computers.
Also, wondering what size you guys make your images for flash and galleries?
Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.
Kevin
I've done a bit of research into website width recently as I've been working on a couple redesigns. As Richard mentioned, if you can make fluid and flexible, all the better. However, I decided I wanted a little more consistent approach. The gold standard for website widths used to be 768px so it would fit on an 800x600 screen with scroll bars. Today, when most screens are a minimum of 1024px wide that seems to have gone up to about 900px. FWIW, NPN is at 800px.
Hope that helps.
Drew
1024 is still the standard, although creating fluid layouts that scale with the page is a good idea - if appropriate (doesn't always work for photography needs). 955 pixels is the max width I use. This accounts for other browser elements like scroll bars. 600-800 seems to be the favorite range for JPEG display, based upon the websites I design. I'd probably recommend 700 or 800 today, as monitors continue to grow.
I use percentages in style sheets for columns and images where I anticipate world wide users who may have different monitors, also for changing window sizes, it's one way of retaining relationships between screen items, regardless of how large or small the window is.
Of course there are limits, where too small a window will cause the items to mis-align,
Frank O'Donnell
I will have to chat with the guy building the site and ask what he knows about making things more dynamic. He mentioned I should use a standard size, and then blend the image to black on the edges so when people with larger monitors view it the edges just fade into black..
A fixed width site is easier to design. So, if you are paying someone to do the work, it will (hopefully) cost you less money. I like the idea of the 'fade-to-black' for the background.
Here are a few of things to keep in mind. First, keep your design (relatively) simple so that it is easy to maintain. Second, attempting to account for various screen resolutions will be difficult. Third, not everyone uses their browser full-screen, so care must be taken to prevent elements from being displaced as the viewport is increased or decreased in size. Fourth, be sure that columns that contain text are not fixed in height. If a viewer increases text size for readability, and column heights are fixed, your layout will blow up.
I hope this helps,
-P
While screens seem to continually grow i tend to use programs at smaller sizes,
for instance i have a dual screen 24" setup, but when i browse the web my webbrowser only takes up half of one screen wich makes the 800px wide still a good width to adhere to imho.
Wim