Examples of Resolutions

Just take a look at these screen shots to understand screen resolution. Then try our "Resolution Test" to help you to see your site at different screen widths.

The screen shot on the left was taken at a very common screen resolution of 800x600 pixels. In this picture, the window was set to the maximum width and height and took up the entire screen. The one on the right is the same page at a screen resolution of 1600x1200 pixels. At this resolution, there is still room for several pages to appear on the same screen. If you still don't see the disparity, just take a look at the following full screen views.

Here is a full screen in 1600x1200 resolution. Notice that there are five browser windows open. This is not the most common resolution in use, but be sure your site is ready. With 19 and 21 inch screens with low dot pitch gaining popularity, higher resolutions are becoming more common.

Here is how a poorly designed site will look at high screen resolution. Notice that part of the page stays the same width, whereas part of it will go as far as the screen will allow. This shows novice work, and little attention to detail. Some designers show little understanding that there are many computers on the market, and each with numerous settings.

Here is the other extreme. This is a full screen in low resolution. A hazard to be aware of here is your overall page width. Many designers will choose a width and use the same figure as a rule. YourNew.com uses 700 pixels as a guideline. It is generally best to keep it under 760 pixels to avoid excessive scrolling for your low resolution viewers. Notice that this site scrolls very little in full screen width at 640x480 resolution. The screen is 640, the page is 700, subtract for the window frame ... most of it fits. This is not a common resolution, in fact, even the Yahoo's and Ebay's will allow their sites to scroll at 640 pixel width. It is still best to not ignore these visitors, as they are often newer Internet users. A common resolution to consider designing toward is 800x600 pixels.

These are basic examples of how differently the Internet is viewed depending on how your viewers like their screen settings. For a good example, take our "Resolution Test" and see how your site looks. Another simple test is to click on the corner of any page and resize it smaller and then larger to see if the text and pictures move out of place or stay relative to one another.

The message is this:

If your site is not designed to look the same at different screen resolutions, it could be making you look less professional. Fortunately, we can help. Oftentimes, a simple and cost effective redesign is all it takes to fix this situation. We are generally able to complete your redesign within one to two days (depending on size).