Site Size

[2johnsons]

I've viewed my site on several different computers and I've noticed it doesn't look the same. On some computers my site and content looks too big (which interferes with the look) and on others it looks smaller.(better)

Is there something I can adjust so my site appears the same size on all computers?

 

Thank you.

[spooks]

The quick answer... No

 

But I wont leave it there, the size of your site on someone screen will depend on the re3solution they have shosen for that, most have 1024x768, a very few use lower & many use higher (the trend is ever higher) so you should aim your site at 1000 ish width currently.

 

You could leaved osC in its default width of 100%, then it will always fill the screen, but then generally looks poor & means an inconsistant look.

 

Generally the best method is to set a fixed width, with the likes of Center & size Shop http://addons.oscommerce.com/info/1485 then all visitors see the same layout, it just fills more or less of thier screen.

 

There are other layouts you could play with like fixed size left/right columns at screen edges with content designed to fill whatever space there is in-between, but these designs take time & care to achieve a good look.

 

I hope that gives enough for you to consider the right way for you.

[Jack_mcs]

I've viewed my site on several different computers and I've noticed it doesn't look the same. On some computers my site and content looks too big (which interferes with the look) and on others it looks smaller.(better)

Is there something I can adjust so my site appears the same size on all computers?

 

Thank you.

If you design your shop to appear correctly using 100% width, it will appear correctly on any monitor. You should design it to appear correctly for a 800x600 display. There are sites around that report screen resolutions of what people are using. Unfortunately, those numbers are not correct for web work since they refer to the monitors resolution, not necessairly what the browser is set to. There are still many people using 800x600 as a browser size. So if you design your site to fit well with that size, it will explan as necessary for the larger ones. Text will automatically expand but the images can be difficult to fit, though it can be done. But none of that will fix improper code. When you say, "looks too big," I assume you mean the text. In that case, your problem is a css problem and will still happen no matter what size display you design for.

[2johnsons]

The quick answer... No

 

But I wont leave it there, the size of your site on someone screen will depend on the re3solution they have shosen for that, most have 1024x768, a very few use lower & many use higher (the trend is ever higher) so you should aim your site at 1000 ish width currently.

 

You could leaved osC in its default width of 100%, then it will always fill the screen, but then generally looks poor & means an inconsistant look.

 

Generally the best method is to set a fixed width, with the likes of Center & size Shop http://addons.oscommerce.com/info/1485 then all visitors see the same layout, it just fills more or less of thier screen.

 

There are other layouts you could play with like fixed size left/right columns at screen edges with content designed to fill whatever space there is in-between, but these designs take time & care to achieve a good look.

 

I hope that gives enough for you to consider the right way for you.

 

Thank you for that information, it was helpful and also provided me with information I was unaware of.

 

Thank you

[2johnsons]

If you design your shop to appear correctly using 100% width, it will appear correctly on any monitor. You should design it to appear correctly for a 800x600 display. There are sites around that report screen resolutions of what people are using. Unfortunately, those numbers are not correct for web work since they refer to the monitors resolution, not necessairly what the browser is set to. There are still many people using 800x600 as a browser size. So if you design your site to fit well with that size, it will explan as necessary for the larger ones. Text will automatically expand but the images can be difficult to fit, though it can be done. But none of that will fix improper code. When you say, "looks too big," I assume you mean the text. In that case, your problem is a css problem and will still happen no matter what size display you design for.

 

Yes that text and images all appear to be bigger then I want them to be. When I view the site on my MAC it looks great just the way I want it to. But when it's viewed on the PC it looks too big which takes away from the overall look.

Thank you for responding and for the information. Im still learning and every bit of information helps.

If you would like to take a look at my site which is still progressing My Site

Thank you again.

[spooks]

The data I have for average screen resolutions is:

 

800 x 600 - 2.5%

1024 x 768 - 28%

1280 x 800 - 24%

1280 x 1024 - 14%

1440 x 900 - 8%

1680 x 1050 - 5%

 

 

That is for UK users, is it much different for other countries?

 

I know that, particularly for users with high res screens, there is a tendancy to have a smaller browser window open, these will normally be 1000 ish wide as most sites are about that width, I don't believe those with reslotutions at the lower end (1024x768 or lower) tend to use this technique though.

 

I think its a mistake to design your site around the lowest resolution as that limits the content you can place on the page, using a higher width means more content, so a richer experiance for your visitors. Remember also if your site is small, it may be fine at low res, but will look lost on the high res screens.

[Jack_mcs]

Yes that text and images all appear to be bigger then I want them to be. When I view the site on my MAC it looks great just the way I want it to. But when it's viewed on the PC it looks too big which takes away from the overall look.

Thank you for responding and for the information. Im still learning and every bit of information helps.

If you would like to take a look at my site which is still progressing My Site

Thank you again.

I don't see a difference between IE and FF and the sizes look fine. I do notice that the images/infobox/thema/0/corner_right_left.gif file is missing. That doesn't cause a problem on IE and FF but maybe missing images are handled differently in a MAC browser. It's always best to fix obvious problems first so you should add that image and any other that are missing.