Question:
I just found out that because my screen
resolution was set to 1024x768 when I designed my sites, most people are not
seeing what I designed, but instead something extremely large and very badly
laid out (I only began in July, so I still have a lot to learn). My pages were
designed in various programs - the early ones in Composer (Netscape), the later
in Adobe Pagemill - I have now set my screen at 600x800, do I have to go back
and re-do all of my pages to make them look decent at this resolution? The idea
of the task is daunting as they comprise about 6 months of work! -submitted by Another Form of Intervention
Answer:
Ahh, yes. The wonderful world of resolution. Welcome. This was probably one
of the most frustrating arguments I have ever had about web design. Not
just with one or two people, but at least ten. 1024x768 is a very large
resolution. It is great on your computer, but for the average joe/jane, who
views at 640x480 or 800x600 it looks a bit odd. I have a client that almost
loses his mind when he sees scroll bars on a web site. I have had another
client that screams when his 1024x768 screen is only partially filled with
his website. It is a catch 22.
My theory is well, you can't win them all, but you can win the majority.
Even at 600 x 800 you are going to have troubles with some of your viewers.
That is why it is a good idea to switch your monitor down to 640x480 and
check to see what your site looks like for those who have small monitors.
There are a lot of them out there. A well coded site will look good on all
screens. Another idea, try taking a pencil and marking on the monitor's
edge lines where the 640x480 screen (on the plastic part) That way, at a
bigger rez you can still get an idea of how big your window should be.
Resize your window that you work in to fit those dimensions so you don't
lose perspective. Also, try setting your table that you work in to 600
pixels. That way, it will look bad, if you over guestimate.
Instead of redesigning all of your pages, try to move some of your images
around. If that doesnt' work, try to use tables to rework some of your old
design in, and only resize the ones that don't fit. It is a good rule of
thumb, to put a large table around everything you have in your web site, and
to center that table so it will automatically center itself when it is in a
larger window. Make sure to set that table's width to 600!
It may sound awful to have to redo all of your sites, but if you do them the
right way this time, you can please all of your viewers. 640x480 is the
safest rez to work with becasue there isn't anything smaller!(that counts
anyway) Just take it one site at a time, and it won't seem so bad.
Remember to experiment! You may not have to change as much as you think.
Oh, and if you are using an editor, think about how much it would take to do
it by hand! You have it luckier than you think!
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