Website Design for Different Browser Sizes
One of the variables that web designers have to deal with during the design process is the continually changing screen resolution of Internet users. Not that long ago, an 800px x 600px screen size was the norm. These days, most people have at least a 1024px x 768px screen. Of course, you still have users who are stuck in the dark ages, with screen resolutions of 640px x 480px, and you have some users who connect to the Internet via their HDTVs, giving them a screen resolution of 1920px x 1080px.
So, how do you, as a web designer, deal with this constantly changing landscape? Well, there’s no easy answer to this. Some designers opt to create pages that are scalable, so they always fill the entire web browser. Others hedge their bets by limiting the width of their sites so they fit within the most common browser size. There are upsides and downsides to both of these approaches, but in both cases, there are other factors to consider.
For instance, whether your site is scalable or static in its width, there will most likely be content that visitors can only see by scrolling down to it. Because of this, it’s important to know how far down your page the average user can see. After all, it’s usually best to put your most important elements “above the fold” so your users will see them when they first arrive on a given page.
All of this leads to an important question, which is, “How do I know what the average screen resolution is?” More specifically, “Is there a way to find out what percentage of the population is using which screen resolution?”
There’s no way to answer these questions exactly, but with Browser Size from Google Labs, you can come close. Because Google is the most-used search engine on the planet, and they log the browser size of all of their visitors, they’ve been able to put together an overlay that will show you the percentage of Internet users who can see the total width and length of your site’s pages. What’s particularly important about Google’s method is that they made sure to base their statistics not on the full screen resolution of their visitors, but on the exact size the browsers were open to during those visits. After all, people don’t always keep their browsers open to the maximum size.
Try Browser Size from Google Labs
Love the picture!