Planning Your Website’s Display Resolution
There are numerous factors that you must consider when developing any website. One you may initially overlook is the display resolution. The cost of both monitors and laptop displays has dropped dramatically in recent years, increasing the availability of larger monitors. As the monitor size increases, so does the display resolution. 800X600 has been the safe standard for many years. Statistics now show almost all users with resolutions of 1024X768 or higher. Some statistics even show a majority of users at this resolution as early as January, 2004. But does this trend automatically mean you should develop your site in 1024X768?
Higher resolutions provide a wealth of new layout options. The greater screen size allows for additional graphics and larger fonts. You can also provide better navigation and reduce the need to scroll the page. This can add substantially to the usability of your site.
However, there are still users who will visit your site with only an 800X600 resolution. To this group, a site designed for a higher resolution will be difficult to navigate at best and unusable at worst. Mobile usage is also increasing, and many devices still prefer a smaller resolution. Although the screen space may be smaller, a well designed site in 800X600 can still look very professional on a much larger display.
As with most subjective design decisions, your first task is to know your target market. It’s quite simple to track the resolutions your visitors are using when they visit your website. There are free tools such as Google Analytics to assist with this task. If still you find this decision difficult, there is another route you can explore. Why not have both resolutions? It is possible to create several versions of your homepage utilizing cascading style sheets. Your site can then detect the resolution of the visitor and provide the optimized page. This is also a great way to accommodate mobile users. Although this route requires an additional investment, it may be a worthwhile investment if you find your target market is still diversified.
