Question

what is the correct size for a "typical" website?

Asked by: Black_Dog_Design

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Asked On: 2008-12-23 at 07:37:21ID24005867
Tags: dreamweaver
Topics: Adobe Dreamweaver
,; Web Frameworks
,; Web Graphics Software
Participating Experts: 3
Points: 500
Comments: 13

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Answers

by: stkoontzPosted on 2008-12-23 at 08:25:54ID: 23234604

That's not an easy question to answer because it depends on the type of site.

But I usually work within an 800X600 frame. That creates a site with the best chance of users not needing to scroll to the right to view the page plus minimal scrolling down.

by: GuitarFingersPosted on 2008-12-23 at 08:28:36ID: 23234624

If only there were such a thing as a 'typical' web site.

From what I have run into, the local small business brochure site could be as few as 4-6 pages. This would be something like the local plumber, the local car mechanic (that doesn't sell cars) or the local bakery for example.

The local restaurant might be larger, with an onlin menu, printable coupons, an admin panel to update prices/offerings, etc.

It is all really about the business being served, and message you desire to put forth.

Hope That Helps...

GF -

by: Black_Dog_DesignPosted on 2008-12-23 at 08:35:49ID: 23234682

Thanks GuitarFingers,
I am actually looking for the screen size - probably should have been more precise.

by: jason1178Posted on 2008-12-23 at 15:12:31ID: 23237613

Hi Black_Dog_Design,

There really isn't one true size to recommend. Just pick the lowest resolution you are going to support (800 x 600, 1024 x 728, etc) and shave 10-20 pixels off that width for viewport/scrollbar differences and there you go. Or, create a completely liquid design that adapts to any width.

by: Black_Dog_DesignPosted on 2008-12-23 at 15:18:22ID: 23237644

Hi Jason,
Obviously I am a newbie at this, can you tell me what you mean by a fluid design? Thanks!

by: jason1178Posted on 2008-12-23 at 16:20:18ID: 23237867

Sure. A fluid design is one that works off of percentages instead of pixels to define widths. So the site "flows" into the container no matter what width.

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" />
<title>Untitled Document</title>
<style type="text/css"> 
 
body  {
	font: 100% Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
	background: #666666;
	margin: 0; 
	padding: 0;
	text-align: center; 
	color: #000000;
}
.thrColLiqHdr #container { 
	width: 80%;  
	background: #FFFFFF;
	margin: 0 auto; 
	border: 1px solid #000000;
	text-align: left; 
} 
.thrColLiqHdr #header { 
	background: #DDDDDD; 
	padding: 0 10px;  
} 
.thrColLiqHdr #header h1 {
	margin: 0; 
	padding: 10px 0; 
}
 
.thrColLiqHdr #sidebar1 {
	float: left; 
	width: 22%; 
	background: #EBEBEB; 
	padding: 15px 0; 
}
.thrColLiqHdr #sidebar2 {
	float: right; 
	width: 23%; 
	background: #EBEBEB; 
	padding: 15px 0; 
}
.thrColLiqHdr #sidebar1 p, .thrColLiqHdr #sidebar1 h3, .thrColLiqHdr #sidebar2 p, .thrColLiqHdr #sidebar2 h3 {
	margin-left: 10px; 
	margin-right: 10px;
}
 
.thrColLiqHdr #mainContent { 
	margin: 0 24% 0 23.5%; 
}
 
.thrColLiqHdr #footer { 
	padding: 0 10px; 
	background:#DDDDDD;
} 
.thrColLiqHdr #footer p {
	margin: 0; 
	padding: 10px 0; 
}
 
 
.fltrt { 
	float: right;
	margin-left: 8px;
}
.fltlft { 
	float: left;
	margin-right: 8px;
}
.clearfloat { 
	clear:both;
    height:0;
    font-size: 1px;
    line-height: 0px;
}
 
</style>
<!--[if IE]>
<style type="text/css"> 
 
.thrColLiqHdr #sidebar2, .thrColLiqHdr #sidebar1 { padding-top: 30px; }
.thrColLiqHdr #mainContent { zoom: 1; padding-top: 15px; }
 
</style>
<![endif] --></head>
 
<body class="thrColLiqHdr">
 
<div id="container">
 <div id="header">
    <h1>Header</h1>
   end #header </div>
  <div id="sidebar1">
  <h3>Sidebar1 </h3>
    <p>The background color on this div will only show for the length of the content. If you'd like a dividing line instead, place a border on the left side of the #mainContent div if the #mainContent div will always contain more content than the #sidebar1 div. </p>
    <p>Donec eu mi sed turpis feugiat feugiat. Integer turpis arcu, pellentesque  eget, cursus et, fermentum ut, sapien. </p>
   end #sidebar1 </div>
  <div id="sidebar2">
    <h3>Sidebar2 </h3>
    <p>The background color on this div will only show for the length of the content. If you'd like a dividing line instead, place a border on the right side of the #mainContent div if the #mainContent div will always contain more content than the #sidebar2 div. </p>
    <p>Donec eu mi sed turpis feugiat feugiat. Integer turpis arcu, pellentesque  eget, cursus et, fermentum ut, sapien. </p>
   end #sidebar2 </div>
  <div id="mainContent">
    <h1> Main Content </h1>
    <p>Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Praesent aliquam,  justo convallis luctus rutrum, erat nulla fermentum diam, at nonummy quam  ante ac quam. Maecenas urna purus, fermentum id, molestie in, commodo  porttitor, felis. Nam blandit quam ut lacus. Quisque ornare risus quis  ligula. Phasellus tristique purus a augue condimentum adipiscing. Aenean  sagittis. Etiam leo pede, rhoncus venenatis, tristique in, vulputate at,  odio. Donec et ipsum et sapien vehicula nonummy. Suspendisse potenti. </p>
    <h2>H2 level heading </h2>
    <p>Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Praesent aliquam,  justo convallis luctus rutrum, erat nulla fermentum diam, at nonummy quam  ante ac quam. Maecenas urna purus, fermentum id, molestie in, commodo  porttitor, felis. Nam blandit quam ut lacus. Quisque ornare risus quis  ligula. Phasellus tristique purus a augue condimentum adipiscing. Aenean  sagittis. Etiam leo pede, rhoncus venenatis, tristique in, vulputate at, odio.</p>
	 end #mainContent </div>
	 This clearing element should immediately follow the #mainContent div in order to force the #container div to contain all child floats <br class="clearfloat" />
  <div id="footer">
    <p>Footer</p>
   end #footer </div>
 end #container </div>
</body>
</html>

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by: Black_Dog_DesignPosted on 2008-12-23 at 16:28:10ID: 23237903

Thanks Jason!
So then that would be the most appropriate design to ensure the broadest number of people can see the largest portion of the site with out scrolling right? Again, sorry for the basic questions, but what would the drawback be to using this type of design set-up?
Laurie

by: jason1178Posted on 2008-12-23 at 16:36:05ID: 23237928

>> So then that would be the most appropriate design to ensure the broadest number of people can see the largest
>> portion of the site with out scrolling right?

Scrolling which way? Horizontal, yes. Vertical...depends on how much content you put in. Also, this is not necessarily the "most appropriate" design. It's an option, nothing more. Some sites rely on certain graphical elements to convey a message and since those have a fixed width/height, it may make more sense to use a fixed width design in those cases.

>> but what would the drawback be to using this type of design set-up?

People using really wide displays tend to stretch the design past what is considered good. However, you can set min and max widths in CSS, so this isn't a huge problem.

Other things relate to what I said above about graphics. You tend to have to be careful about how you use them in a fluid page to make sure they don't jump around the screen.

by: Black_Dog_DesignPosted on 2008-12-23 at 16:45:54ID: 23237967

OK, I think I get it.
The bottom line seems to be that this might be the answer for horizontal for some sites and then other sites, I should just go with the standard (800 x 600, 1024 x 728 depending on who I tink my marekt will be for that particular site. Sound about right?
Thanks!

by: jason1178Posted on 2008-12-23 at 20:21:21ID: 23238454

>> I should just go with the standard (800 x 600, 1024 x 728 depending on who I tink my marekt will be for that
>> particular site. Sound about right?

More or less. Good luck

by: jason1178Posted on 2008-12-23 at 22:06:29ID: 23238701

Black_Dog_Design,

Thanks for the points.

Even though I posted more than the other two Experts, their contributions were still valid. When posting an objective question like this, the custom here is to split points between everyone who participated.

If you would like to do that and reward the other participants, please click the Request Attention link above and ask a Moderator to reopen the question so you can split.

by: Black_Dog_DesignPosted on 2008-12-23 at 22:24:57ID: 31528544

thank you everyone!

20120131-EE-VQP-002

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