Standards for web page viewable area size

[Taraboom]

I would like to ask exert opinion re: how wide do they typically make viewable area for web pages.

Most templates would have 800 pixels wide area with 780 suggested for Chrome. At the same time monitors set for 800x600 resolution is a thing in the past (probably was a thing in the past five years ago). On a 24'' monitor with a default resolution 800 wide template is a relatively small box, to read a standard size font that comes with a template one may need a magnifying glass.

Would a say 1000 pixels wide viewable area be an issue?

[DaveSawers]

I nearly always make the width dynamc these days and let the user decide on the size of his browser window.

Why design a wide site if it's going to be viewed on someone's mobile phone?

[Taraboom]

Thank you, good point. Didn't think about mobile phones.

Do you actually have a script that returns browser settings, and then based on that re-sizes the page accordingly? That sounds like a lot of resizing as it page graphics and fonts would have to be re sized as well

[DaveSawers]

No. Just use percentages for widths instead of px or whatever. As long as your graphics are reasonably sized, the browser makes a pretty good job of repositioning them before adding scroll bars for a really small browser window size.

Font sizes should always be under the users' control, not the web designers so that those with impaired sight can make the text bigger.

[djdirect]

I would have a separate mobile version of the site, something ive always planned to do, but never got round to it!

[DaveSawers]

I would have a separate mobile version of the site, something ive always planned to do, but never got round to it!

I don't think it's worth doing that anymore. Mobile devices are getting better at viewing "full size" browser wondows and as a result few developers bother developing a separate version.

[digital29]

I don`t know if 1000px are an issue, but I personally use 960px width all the time

[SusanMart]

Well, 1024x768 is the standard screen size (because mainly people use this dimension size).

[HTMLBasicTutor]

Well, 1024x768 is the standard screen size (because mainly people use this dimension size).

You are referring to the resolution setting of the monitor, not the screen size.

As a website owner or web designer you have to take into consideration what are the most common screen resolutions for the intended target audience of the website to determine what web page width is suitable for the website.

Have you visited a website that has a web page width too wide for your monitor or browser window? You have to use the horizontal scroll to go back and forth reading and/or looking for information on the page. This makes reading the website very hard and can be very annoying if the website has some information the visitor is interested in.

Not Designing for Most Common Screen Resolution

I go with a flexible (fluid) size so it adjusts to the user's browser window. Just because the user has a large monitor does not mean they have the browser maximized to fill the screen. On some sizes I have used the max-width or min-width properties which only work in browsers that support CSS 2 or greater.

Using a flexible font size makes life so much better for those with vision problems and those who can't read your tiny font, even with their glasses on.

For mobile device design, if you keep the Mobile Web Best Practices as you design your regular site/blog then a separate design for mobile devices wouldn't be necessary.

[SusanMart]

You are referring to the resolution setting of the monitor, not the screen size.

hehe, thanks for correcting me))