Best screen size for web site.

[Chaky]

Hello!
What would you say is the best screen size of a website. I've just started on a new one, but i know it wont fit on most monitors. Mine is set to 1280 x 960 which makes it hard to judge on smaller resolution. I hate changing it as is messes with my icons .
So, what's a good size to use in this age?:mad::)

[bruleo]

More and more people are using larger screens with a higher-resolution these days, but there are still a great many users that still use 800x600 resolution settings, so using anything other than this is always going to alienate some people.

There are choices you can make, however, to put your site in front of as many people as possible with differnent resolutions.

1) You can just stick to an 800 pixel fixed width site.
Advantages: Everyone should be able to view it
Disadvantages: Limited content space.

2) You can employ techniques to determine a users browsers settings and then redirect them to a page set up specifically for their screen resolution. (code to do this is freely available on the net)
Advantages: Most people will see what you intended for their resolution.
Disadvantages: The need to edit and maintain multiple versions of a page (or CSS styles)

3) You can use a 'fluid' design that adjusts to the width of the browser.
Advantages: Easy to maintain.
Disdvantages: Can sometimes look messy in smaller browser windows on low resolutions screens or large windows on high resolutions screens! Can also be a nightmare to get working in all types of browser due to the way they interpret CSS.

I would say though, that if you are just 'starting' a new site with a 1280 pixel width, I would scrap it and start again! My screen is set at 1680x1050 which means I would be able to view your site with no problems, but as I usually have at least two sites open side-by-side, it would mean I have to adjust my usual viewing mode just for your site!

Me? I tend to stick to an 800 pixel widthfor my sites, or if that's impossible due to style constraints, as close as possible. Whenever I design a site, I do adjust my own screen resolution during the process to get an idea of what it would look like to other people.

Bruce.

[hazardouspunch]

mine is 1280x960.
I made a research on one of my business websites and I tracked the operating systems,resolutions,geography etc.The most visitors were using 1280x960 (about %87)
So be wise;)

[shadav]

hehehehe mine's 1600x1200 :D
and i run into this problem quite a bit cuz i tend to forget...
bruleo thnx for the post (yes i actually read it all and learned a few things i'll have to look into)
typically i use fluid designs, but even then it gets annoying because I forget and i put too much into one area so it still doesn't downsize exactly right....

[plexnine]

i already do a search abouth that and that right for the moment is 1280x960

[gonzo]

Well! the best way to do a website design is to use the main content body area in percentage(%) rather then pixels, be it 2 column or 3 column layout. I always design my sites that way and never had any problems with screen resolutions be it 800X600 or 1600X1050. If some templates has size constrains then I always centered the whole pages and it looks good even in higher resolution screens and you can always use the Zoom tool to view it larger.

Gonzo