Size Up Your Site

Most site designers have big monitors that display big browser windows. Most users don't. If designers don't take that into account, important page elements -- navigation menus, text, maybe a "buy now" button -- may not appear in an average user's browser window.

Does your site work well in smaller browser windows? Use the form at right to take a look. Enter the URL, then click a standard window size or enter a custom size (in pixels).

One Size Does Not Fit All

Should your site's interface fit into a small window or take advantage of more screen real estate? Most major business-to-consumer e-commerce sites, including Amazon.com, take the lowest-common-denominator approach, designing their pages to be viewable in an 640-by-480-pixel browser window. AOL users with the default AOL browser are looking at windows just a shade wider than 640 pixels. There are tens of millions of AOL users, and e-commerce players can do the math.

Other sites, such as the New York Times, use a "foldout" design. These sites fit their content and navigation elements into a 640-pixel-wide area. But they take advantage of the extra space between the 640- and 800-pixel marks to place a vertical strip of extra advertising or other highlights. Still other sites, including ParlorMob.com, use flexible page designs that expand and contract with the browser window.

What size is right for your site? Before you answer that question, know your audience. Are they high-end users with huge monitors? Will they access your site on tiny wireless devices? Once you've planned with the audience in mind, test the design with actual users. You'll end up with a perfect fit.