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There is absolutely no reason to collect and store window dimensions, other than for fingerprinting and tracking. Sure it might be an interesting piece of trivi

by samirm 8y ago

There is absolutely no reason to collect and store window dimensions, other than for fingerprinting and tracking. Sure it might be an interesting piece of trivia for the dev, but it's not necessary for the dev to "make sure the website works great on all of those dimensions", since that much is already obvious and presumed when making websites these days.

soared 8y ago
Besides... optimizing a site for specific window dimensions? If I see conversion rate is lower on a certain band of dimensions, something likely doesn't display properly. It'd be impossible to test every dimension.
markbnj 8y ago
Could there not be value in knowing how many pixels your users have available to view your things? You could presumably get that information from device characteristics but then could also presumably use that for fingerprinting.
- samirm 8y ago
  You as the developer have access to and are aware of all possible display dimensions and aspect ratios. It's not that hard to prioritize the sizes you want to support and then work based off that. There are plenty of tools out there that let you simulate different screen sizes for testing too. I don't see this information providing any extra value.
  - CJefferson 8y ago
    Surely the best sizes to prioritize would be the ones your users are using the most?
    - samirm 8y ago
      Also known as the most common sizes used by everyone else for most other sites...
      - chipotle_coyote 8y ago
        I wonder how those other sites figured out what window dimensions their users were most commonly using!
        samirm 8y ago
        that doesn't matter now does it?
      - Reedx 8y ago
        Metrics like that can vary significantly depending on your audience.
  - kelnage 8y ago
    But you are assuming the users browse the website in full screen mode/maximised. Whilst true for most mobile devices, this is certainly not given on desktops.
    - samirm 8y ago
      No, I'm not assuming that, because regardless of how the user browses your site, you're still going to prioritize the sizes important to you. It wouldn't make sense to prioritize optimizing site design for the few people who are using a non-standard size. http://gs.statcounter.com/screen-resolution-stats http://gs.statcounter.com/screen-resolution-stats
Drdrdrq 8y ago
Actually there is, this is one of the most interesting metrics. It doesn't have to be precise though, rounding to nearest 50px would be more than enough. I would argue that height and aspect ratio should be collected too. (I didn't downvote you FWIW)
- Bjartr 8y ago
  Heck, "rounding" to desktop/mobile could tell you enough to know what to focus your dev time on.
- stordoff 8y ago
  Could you round to buckets as well - take the 10 (say) most common screen sizes, and round users to the nearest? That way users with odd screen sizes aren't identified.

by samirm 8y ago

soared 8y ago

Besides... optimizing a site for specific window dimensions? If I see conversion rate is lower on a certain band of dimensions, something likely doesn't display properly. It'd be impossible to test every dimension.

markbnj 8y ago

Could there not be value in knowing how many pixels your users have available to view your things? You could presumably get that information from device characteristics but then could also presumably use that for fingerprinting.

samirm 8y ago
You as the developer have access to and are aware of all possible display dimensions and aspect ratios. It's not that hard to prioritize the sizes you want to support and then work based off that. There are plenty of tools out there that let you simulate different screen sizes for testing too. I don't see this information providing any extra value.
- CJefferson 8y ago
  Surely the best sizes to prioritize would be the ones your users are using the most?
  - samirm 8y ago
    Also known as the most common sizes used by everyone else for most other sites...
    - chipotle_coyote 8y ago
      I wonder how those other sites figured out what window dimensions their users were most commonly using!
      - samirm 8y ago
        that doesn't matter now does it?
    - Reedx 8y ago
      Metrics like that can vary significantly depending on your audience.
- kelnage 8y ago
  But you are assuming the users browse the website in full screen mode/maximised. Whilst true for most mobile devices, this is certainly not given on desktops.
  - samirm 8y ago
    No, I'm not assuming that, because regardless of how the user browses your site, you're still going to prioritize the sizes important to you. It wouldn't make sense to prioritize optimizing site design for the few people who are using a non-standard size. http://gs.statcounter.com/screen-resolution-stats http://gs.statcounter.com/screen-resolution-stats

Drdrdrq 8y ago

Actually there is, this is one of the most interesting metrics. It doesn't have to be precise though, rounding to nearest 50px would be more than enough. I would argue that height and aspect ratio should be collected too. (I didn't downvote you FWIW)

Bjartr 8y ago
Heck, "rounding" to desktop/mobile could tell you enough to know what to focus your dev time on.
stordoff 8y ago
Could you round to buckets as well - take the 10 (say) most common screen sizes, and round users to the nearest? That way users with odd screen sizes aren't identified.