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Thank you Ed for the excellent post! While it is true CNN, Digg, CNet and others have chosen to switch to 1024x768, these sites target a different profile of u

Thank you Ed for the excellent post! While it is true CNN, Digg, CNet and others have chosen to switch to 1024x768, these sites target a different profile of users than the target demographics for our study. SoftwareProjects is in the business of building websites that "sell". And by sell I am referring to the ability to convert an anonymous website visitor who is visiting a new website for the first time, into a qualified lead and then a paying customer. Users frequenting Digg and CNet are in a completely different mindset, than someone looking to get a mortgage quote, or a user who is surfing the net looking for a new bookshelf. For these type of websites, promoting a specific product/service, it's been shown you typically have 4 seconds to convince the user to stick around, before they hit the BACK button. Our research conversion data shows users were more comfortable with buying when presented with a thin website. If you examine popular retail sites targeting the average Internet user, you'll find they all follow a similar paradigm: Overstock.com, Target.com, BuyOwner.com, WalMart.com etc. - are all designed as "thin" sites, deliberately not utilizing the entire width of the page.

ed 19y ago
Hi Mike, welcome to the site! I feel like this is getting fairly pedantic but the question "what width should your site be?" is flawed -- there is no single correct answer. It's alot like asking the question: "which browser should I develop for?" Clearly, user environments vary. The developing team must take this into consideration and work accordingly. I think the best answer you can give to someone asking your question is the following: If you can only design a single layout, use whatever resolution allows you to maximize available screen real estate while supporting the largest subset of users. (Note that this does not necessarily mean you should design the site to take up the entire width of the browser.) However, if you have the resources to evaluate multiple user environments (and I'd make the argument that EVERYONE does), then do so and provide conditional formatting. So, for example, a user with an 800x600 display will see a design optimized for that resolution without compromising the design used for others with larger screens.
- MikePeters 19y ago
  Bravo! Couldn't have said it better myself. BTW - I love what you did with PhotoFlock.

ed 19y ago

Hi Mike, welcome to the site! I feel like this is getting fairly pedantic but the question "what width should your site be?" is flawed -- there is no single correct answer. It's alot like asking the question: "which browser should I develop for?" Clearly, user environments vary. The developing team must take this into consideration and work accordingly. I think the best answer you can give to someone asking your question is the following: If you can only design a single layout, use whatever resolution allows you to maximize available screen real estate while supporting the largest subset of users. (Note that this does not necessarily mean you should design the site to take up the entire width of the browser.) However, if you have the resources to evaluate multiple user environments (and I'd make the argument that EVERYONE does), then do so and provide conditional formatting. So, for example, a user with an 800x600 display will see a design optimized for that resolution without compromising the design used for others with larger screens.

MikePeters 19y ago
Bravo! Couldn't have said it better myself. BTW - I love what you did with PhotoFlock.