Practical eCommerce

tcraw1010 · **Date:** Fri Jan 26, 2007 4:41 pm **Subject:** Contemporary Design Dimensions

Call me crazy, but I truly believe the days of designing for 800x600 are over. Oh sure, there may be a few near sighted peopel out there who still cling to their low resolution monitors . . . but it seems to me that the new standard these days is 1024x768.

Let's face it, computer monitors/displays and graphics cards are only going to get better and better ... shouldn't web design be the same?

Your thoughts ???

bgetting

This one has always been a weird question. Years ago I always wanted to design for 1024 x 768 just because they weren't going to get any smaller. However, as time goes on I realize that it really does depend on your target audience.

For example, in Michelle's "Ecommerce: A Day in the Life" blog she talks about the staggering number of people that visit her site with 800 x 600. I personally would go with 770 pixels wide for that one, just to be safe.

As an alternative, you can design a site that is 770 pixels wide but also scales horizontally for those with bigger monitors. I like that solution for Michelle because it ensure that everyone gets a nice version of the site.

tcraw1010 · **Date:** Fri Jan 26, 2007 8:40 pm **Subject:**

My only problem with that approach is when the site "autofits" to a wider screen resolution, there is a lot of white/open space as a result. To me, this detracts fromt he visual appeal fo the site.

By way of example ... what resolution is Practical Ecommenrce.com designed for?

bgetting · **Date:** Fri Jan 26, 2007 10:06 pm **Subject:** larger monitors

1024 x 768

We have visitors with all types of screen sizes, though. Very few smaller than this size, however, relative to the whole.

Euan · **Date:** Sat Jan 27, 2007 5:07 am **Subject:**

I still design for 800 x 600. I guess it's because I know exactly what everyone will see what they visit the site.

I think it also depends on the design - some sites lend themselves better to larger resolutions while some sites look totally different on a larger resolution compared to 800 x 600.

PamelaHazelton · **Date:** Sat Feb 03, 2007 5:08 pm **Subject:**

tcraw1010 · **Date:** Sun Feb 04, 2007 12:38 am **Subject:**

Thank Pamela !!

Is that "Design Extend" website yours? I ask because my store is Miva Merchant 5 based and I am starting to look for modules to extend the basic functionalities.

I just briefly clicked through a couple of the sections and one thing, as a potential customer, I would like to see are working examples or, at least, screenshots of what the various modules look like when implemented. This is something that is also lacking on some of the other Miva module sites I have looked into ... and it's kind of a "not sure what I'm buying" situation - you know?

If the Design Extend website is yours - might I suggest that enhancement?

I'm going to look a bit deeper through your offerings ... always great to have a trusted resource like that available.

Smile