Statistics for Designers

One of the challenges for a web designer is to create a layout that will accomodate all visitors' screen resolution and web browsers. The browser statistics page on W3 Schools online tracks many design technical relevant information that will assist web designers create more effective and functional web sites. Although I prefer designing layouts for screen resolutions of 1024 by 768 or higher, I still make an effort to make all my web sites compatible with screen resolutions that are 800 by 600. According to the statistics, there are still around 29% of computer users to date with screen resolutions at 800 by 600. However, more and more people are using larger screen resolutions to surf the Internet. Around 53% of people to date use screen resolutions that is 1024 by 768.

As computer technology advances, screen resolution will increase. In a perfect web designer world, all computers will have the same screen resolution. If there is a standard screen resolution, it will be much easier for a designer to create beautiful web layouts that will fit perfectly on all computer screens. If you are using a screen resolution that is 1024 by 768 or higher, you will notice many web sites with empty spaces on the right side of the screen, on either sides like my site, or all around. All these empty spaces are there to ensure proper accomadation for lower screen resolutions. For example, I use a screen resolution that is 1280 by 1024 pixels. My screen shot at 1280 by 1024 screen resolutionof W3 School's web site as viewed on my computer displays an abundance of empty space on the right side of the main content. Check out this screen shot at 800 by 600 screen resolution for comparison. It is a huge difference between the two in terms of viewing experience. You may check your current screen resolution settings by right clicking on your desktop, select "Properties", and go to the "Settings" tab.

Hopefully, screen resolutions will be standardized in the future. When it happens, all web layouts will be displayed as they were intended as envisioned by the designer. In the mean time, designers must refer to the statistics on W3 School Online to ensure that their creations can accomodate most visitors.

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