Dynamic Screen Resolution

One of the largest problems with Internet site development is screen resolution. More important, how much screen space does the user have to display the content. This means the browser window size and how the browser is configured(toolbars take space) are more important than actual screen resolution. Who cares if the user has 1600x1200 resolution if the browser window is only 500x400. 

With the onslaught of portable gadgets that are web enabled this is quickly becoming a critical issue. All these gadgets require less than 640x480. It was challenging enough with common PC screen resolutions, with these new devices there could be hundreds of screen resolutions less than 640x480. 

This site automatically optimizes for the available display area, not just screen resolution. It automatically adjusts for display areas from 475x260 and higher. The site automatically proportions to fit the window size and automatically adjusts as the user resizes the window. Currently 98% of all pages will support the smallest display area without compromises! The site could be viewed even smaller(maybe as low as 320x240) with some tweaks. Even better, it optimizes pages for higher screen resolution. Maximizing on your available space.

In order to obtain dynamic resolution requires standards in your design. Actually it is quite easy. Don't specify size for anything but pictures, or at least use percentage, don't use specific pixel size. You will need to use "nowrap" parameter much more frequently. Most important is testing of the page in various sizes. You can accomplish this by setting your screen resolution to the highest level you want to support and then resize the browser window smaller and smaller(same effect as changing screen resolution for testing purposes). If you use 1024x768 resizing the browser window to around 35% of screen will be what a user with 640x480 will see. 

It is so much easier to do what many sites do... specify a table that is 600px wide(centered if they are fancy). Unfortunately for the 90%+ of us that use higher resolution this means large areas of the window are wasted space(40% on my systems). If the window is less than 600px wide the users viewing pleasure is greatly diminished. As you can see I do not agree with this simple solution. It is an investment in an architecture that can't scale. When these new gadgets become popular all these hard coded sites will have to be rebuilt(I will do a few adjustments maybe).   That said, specifying an objects size is beneficial in specific situations.

Technical Note - One of the differences using "IFrames" is they do not automatically adjust their size when the window is resized. This must be programmed.