General Design Considerations 2

Screen Resolution

How does screen resolution make a difference

This section is not a hard and fast set of rules, but is an easy solution to one of the problems that face producers of web sites. Try for yourself how the Normist web site stands up to different resolutions. It was written using a screen resolution of 1024 * 768. However, the main body of the text will fit on a screen with a resolution of 800 * 600, and is just about readable at a resolution of 1600 * 1200.

NOTE: When the site was first produced, Normist was restricted in width to 640 pixels by using tables with a compatible color outside this frame. In this version, the width of the content is restricted to 744 pixels so that it fits on a screen 800 pixels wide.

Some people use screen resolutions outside these limits, but you have to draw the line somewhere! The only other solution for extreme resolutions is to detect what the visitor is using and redirect to a specially prepared page. E.G. a page prepared for internet-ready telephones, but this is best handled with Cascading Style Sheets.

How to keep a page within bounds An earlier, now deprecated method.

Use tables! By using a large single-celled table with other tables configured inside, you can control the effective size of your web pages. Experiment with this idea on a file called 'template.htm' and you can then ensure that your 'house style' will be consistent throughout your web site by basing all your pages on this template. See the Table Tutor section on the Web page tutor.

Again this ploy applied to earlier editions of Normist which went on to uses frames and CSS and now just uses CSS.

The colour schemes used in your tables.

In this web site, I have deliberately attempted a style which I hope is cosy and informal. The colou r schemes used on your web site should be consistent and generally not too outrageous. In addition, the colours used in the links should be mentioned. In general, it is best to leave these colours at their default values as visitors to your site are used to these and are less liable to be confused than if you changed the colours. In this web site, I have changed the colours of some of the links as the links are fairly obvious without this aid.