Screen Resolution and Page Layout

What screen resolution should we design for?

The size really depends on the audience. If you are going to be designing the sight for an audience which consists of large monitors then you may want to adjust accordingly. If you are not sure then a good default would be 1024x768. It is important that you never set it for a specific size. It should be adjustable. This is due to the fact that most users will minimize or maximize their window. Using a liquid layout will alow them to change the size to fit whatever they want

What does it mean to optimize to 1024x768?

This means that the page should look and work the best at the most common size. It should still work at other layouts which is why a liquid layout is recomended.

Three Criteria
• Initial visibility: Is all key information visible above the fold so users can see it without scrolling? This is a tradeoff between how many items are shown vs. how much detail is displayed for each item.
• Readability: How easy is it to read the text in various columns, given their allocated width?
• Aesthetics: How good does your page look when the elements are at the proper size and location for this screen size? Do all the elements line up correctly -- that is, are captions immediately next to the photos, etc.?

These criterium should be used in all layout sizes. This isn't specific to 1024x768.

How do Big Screens make a difference?

The percentage of big screens is growing as americans must have the best and the greatest in everything that they do. The prices have become very competitive and have been reduced quite a bit. With a big screen users won't be stretching their page to fit the whole screen. But the mean size is increasing and needs to be accounted for in upcoming years

Implementation

As I look to creating a web sight for my dad's work i need to realize who his audience is. I need to try to understand that they will all be working in difference sizes of monitors. If I was to create a non adjustable or non liquid page then users would have a frustrating time using the page. This is something that I need to take into consideration. I personally try to size my screens differently when I have more than one page opened. I should expect others to have want the same.

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