WEB SITE SIZE

First let's discuss physical screen size. It is one of the biggest errors seen. A web site should be designed to fit within an 800 by 600 screen. Market research shows that as of October 2005 that 52% of all users have their screen size set to 1024 x 768. A full 42% have their screen size set to 800 x 600. The difference, presumably, is those with newer, larger, or flat screen monitors and those with older 15", 17", and 19" monitors. 6% of the Internet views are set to something else, which could be older 14" and 15" monitors set to 600 x 480 and those who went wild with larger very expensive monitors like 21". So who do we design for. As any of us who have children or friends who are school teachers, we work toward the lowest common denominator. That would be 800 x 600 pixel screens. Much as a teacher teaches to the bottom half of a class so that no one gets left behind, they don't teach to the lowest student because it would bore the other students into loss of attention. If we designed the web site for the majority (52% at 1024 x 768) we put things off the right side of the screen and force the large minority of users (42% at 800 x 600) to use the scroll bar on the bottom of the screen to scroll back and forth, left and right, as we go down the page. They find it annoying and probably won't be back.

The web site should be self expanding! What exactly does that mean. If you go to many web sites and view them with your display settings at 800 x 600 and they fit perfectly, it's great. They cover the whole screen from left to right and have no scroll bar across the bottom of your browser. Now switch your display (Control Panel/Display/Settings) to 1024 x 768 and go back and look at the web site again. Is the web site now in the left 4/5ths of the screen with blank space on the right, or centered on the screen with blank space on both sides (usually a blank colored background)? If this is the case, it is programmed to be a certain size and will accept nothing else. If the screen has expanded to fill your new view (1024 x 768) and continues to fill your entire screen, it is programmed properly. A hint at this point is that if your home page has a graphic banner on the top (header), it requires some creative thinking and work to get it to be a self expanding web site as pictures do not expand. Pictures, banners, photo's, and graphics are all fixed in size and do not expand. So having one large banner across the top that is all graphics (gif, jpeg, etc.) will look great until you view in other size screens. An example of a self expanding web site is R & R Van Lifts An example of a non self expanding web site would be http://www.LIRealty.com.

So the rule is: Your web site should be (Left to right)100% within an 800 x 600 screen! If not, you could alienate your audience or people could miss important things on the right side of your screen, like a "buy now" button!

Now that we have discussed viewing size, now let's discuss actual page size in the content area, which is the bulk of the viewing screen, or the 600 pixel size in the 800 x 600 screen we have been talking about. Many Marketing companies make the mistake of thinking in terms of fixed size paper which they deal with in printed  flyers and brochures and have a hard time transitioning to a web page.

A web page is like a brochure in that it has a fixed width (left to right based on screen viewing dimensions), but unlike a flyer or brochure, can be unlimited in height! There is no physical limit as to where the bottom of the page is! This lack of this conceptualization causes many marketing companies to limit their home page in size and content and to use many marketing phrases and terms rather than full content.

The bulk of the main viewing screen, or the portion that is seen when a page loads is the most important portion to capture the audience and get them to stay and view the web site as well as do business with you. But there is limitless space below that portion of the screen to add more content and search engine relevance to the web site. An example is a web design where there is no up and down scroll bar. The web designer made it all fit in an 800 x 600 or 1024 768 page. I will grant that it looks good, but it does not take advantage of a lot of space that could be used for marketing and search engine optimization.  You have unlimited space, use it to add as much content as possible without stuffing it with junk or non-relevant material. Generally the web sites that totally fit within your screen with no up and down scroll bars on your browser tend to lack content and barely meet the 200 word search engine minimum. That is not the formula for search engine success.

The best way to describe this is a compromise between a short concise marketing message (that search engines just won't get) and a rambling dissertation (that nobody will read). Somewhere in between is where you want to be.

But remember one thing: CONTENT IS KING! Search engines come to your web site for content, not marketing.

A good example would be if you were to put up a web site for a company that installs custom home theaters. To have a small marketing page that simply implies that you do quality work, great designs, and a reasonable prices is great. But if you add a one liner or short paragraph about he differences in Televisions and systems, referencing much of the new technology terminology, with links to a page discussing the pro's and con's of each to help your customers make a decision, you add content to the first page as well as a link to much more content and a more detailed discussion of the topic (content). It works great for the search engine and it makes your site more useful to the viewing public, as well as making you look like an expert. And think about it, when you are shelling out $6,000.00 to $10,000.00 for the largest plasma television on earth, you want an expert to work with you!