Is the 1024 x 768 px still the norm for web design?
Browsing habits have changed and will continue to do so. Web designers constantly need to adapt to users evolving habits to design the ultimate browsing experience. One of the most commonly debated questions is:
“What screen resolution should I design for?”
The design norm used to be 1024 x 768, hence the introduction of the 960 pixel grid system– but is this the case anymore with bigger monitors and more mobile devices? This infographic provides an overview of how screen resolutions have changed over the past 13 years:
So what screen resolution should you use? This greatly depends on your own specific visitors. You can find this information from your web analytics software. By analysing each of the percentages, you can decide which percentage of your visitors are priority. For example, if the majority of your visitors (say 75%) are on a larger than 1024×768 display screen, do you ignore the 30% and design the pages larger or design it smaller so you can accommodate 100% – this is all up to you!
If you have a question regarding what size your website is, leave you website URL in the comments section below and I’ll respond.
Or just design responsively so that your website looks magical and beautiful at *any* resolution… starting from mega huge (i.e. 2000px wide for super iMac / HD+ screens) down to mega small (i.e. 450px / mobile screens) … CSS3 makes it all possible. Anyone NOT doing mobile responsive web design is killing their conversion right now.
Hi Israel Smith, thank you for your comment! I completely agree with you, especially on the mobile responsive web design! Do you have any favourite examples of responsive websites to share?