Literate Web Pages...Think Browser, Not Screen, Size

Don't think in terms of the assumed screen size (resolution).

Think in terms of the user's chosen browser window size.

Why

Why? Because users don't always use full-screen browser windows:

• "...I am [thoroughly] sick of web sites/application that require either that the browser occupy the entire screen or that the user do a lot of horizontal scrolling." (Ian Pilcher, 2003-07-25, in netscape.public.mozilla.general, message ID <bfrr2e$2f44@ripley.netscape.com>)
• "Webpages are generally seen on a display screen, with no standard size (neither the screen, nor the browser window)..." [emphasis added] (A Message to Clueless Website Authors)
• "Browser windows are resizable, allowing users to choose how big they appear on the desktop." [emphasis added] (The Myth of 800x600)

Note that many people consider screen size and neglect to consider browser window size. Some examples:

• "...you need to decide how much you care about making the 640 x 480 crowd scroll vs. making the 1024 x 768 squint..." (Average Computer Screen Resolution Statistics)
• Screen Resolution And Page Design repeatly discusses screen resolution without considering browser window size.

Ironically, even proponents of good, flexible design forget to mention that screen size isn't the relevant size:

• "[Liquid design] gives the page a fairly balanced look over the two most popular resolutions: 800x600 and 1024x728." (Liquid Design: Go With the Flow)

Details

Ideally, avoid elements with fixed widths in the first place.

(That also goes for constructs with large minimum widths. For example, don't use a multi-column layout if the columns contain non-wrappable elements or non-breakable text, such as long URLs.)

If you really must consider absolute sizes, then when you determine your assumptions about your users' typical or average screen resolution, don't use the screen size directly. Consider the fact that the user's chosen browser window size might be significantly smaller.

As The Myth of 800x600 says::

Screen resolution...is the wrong statistic to use to determine the optimum display size for Web pages.

References

For more information, see: