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I have this shaky hypothesis where the majority of UX devs today (not just web devs) grew up consuming content on smart phones, ipads, and small laptop screens.

I have this shaky hypothesis where the majority of UX devs today (not just web devs) grew up consuming content on smart phones, ipads, and small laptop screens. Their default way of interacting with technology is one app or web page at a time, all in maximized windows taking up the whole screen, and switching between between full-screen apps to multi-task. Perhaps this pattern carries over into their adult work, where they design sites and apps that look great when taking up the whole screen of a typical PC or tablet, but outright fail when exposed to a typical "windowed" browser width. My normal browser width is about 1300 pixels and I see so many web sites and apps these days that can't tolerate what I consider a very reasonable browser width that this is the only explanation I can come up with.

zlg_codes 3y ago
Good points! The unfortunate side effect of having 4k and 8k screens is that 1080p is still common. I could understand why they'd assume nobody leaves a browser window covering only a quarter of their screen, but at the same time, both major browsers have a Responsive Mode where you can test screen resolutions, orientations, and tap events. There are devices with resolutions under 800x600 still accessing the Web. Every developer has to place where their own minimum threshold of consideration is. I personally aim for those old-school resolutions as the minimum, and may move upwards to something like 720p if it's a bit more complex. My screen itself is 1080p, so if it looks good at full screen, it will probably look decent on 4k as well as long as I'm using scaling units.
carlosjobim 3y ago
Your visitors and paying customers access your site on mobile. Mobile is the majority. If you don't design for mobile you lose business. It has nothing to do with the UX devs. If I notice 80% of my customers come from Japan, you better believe I will make everything available in Japanese. The same with mobile. Most people do not use computers. Most people who use computers only use them for work in specific applications. Most people who have a computer at home haven't been able to use it in years, because every time they try to boot it, Windows Update takes up all the system resources and bandwidth.

zlg_codes 3y ago

Good points! The unfortunate side effect of having 4k and 8k screens is that 1080p is still common. I could understand why they'd assume nobody leaves a browser window covering only a quarter of their screen, but at the same time, both major browsers have a Responsive Mode where you can test screen resolutions, orientations, and tap events. There are devices with resolutions under 800x600 still accessing the Web. Every developer has to place where their own minimum threshold of consideration is. I personally aim for those old-school resolutions as the minimum, and may move upwards to something like 720p if it's a bit more complex. My screen itself is 1080p, so if it looks good at full screen, it will probably look decent on 4k as well as long as I'm using scaling units.

carlosjobim 3y ago

Your visitors and paying customers access your site on mobile. Mobile is the majority. If you don't design for mobile you lose business. It has nothing to do with the UX devs. If I notice 80% of my customers come from Japan, you better believe I will make everything available in Japanese. The same with mobile. Most people do not use computers. Most people who use computers only use them for work in specific applications. Most people who have a computer at home haven't been able to use it in years, because every time they try to boot it, Windows Update takes up all the system resources and bandwidth.