Optimal Screen Resolution for Web Design
Posted by Mark Thompson - May 30, 2008 - Design/Development - 97 Commentshttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.stayonsearch.com%2Foptimal-screen-resolution-for-web-designOptimal+Screen+Resolution+for+Web+Design2008-05-30+12%3A31%3A57Mark+Thompsonhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.greendotinteractive.com%2Fblog%2F%3Fp%3D9UPDATE: 2010 Screen Resolution Statistics
Screen resolutions have changed a lot over the past 8 years. Computer monitors have migrated to offer users much smaller resolution choices. The days of 640 x 480 have long since past.
This brings up a good question for web developers. “What should the average width of a website be?” Of course there are other parameters to consider such as the style of design the client chooses. Fluid website design, like those that expand 100% of the users browser regardless of their screen resolution, is one way to avoid having to worry about designing for the “average” screen resolution.
I analyzed 6 of our clients web statistics and came up with the following screen resolution statistics:
Websites Analyzed: 6
Total Visits: 185,637
Date Range: January, 2008 – May, 2008
Here are some statistics from w3schools.com.
As the use of laptops and wide screen desktop monitors become more prevalent, we will start to see these trends continue to change.
| Resolution | Visits | % |
| 1024 x 768 | 82,351 | 44.36% |
| 1280 x 1024 | 29,989 | 16.51% |
| 1280 x 800 | 28,790 | 15.51% |
| 800 x 600 | 10,858 | 5.85% |
| 1440 x 900 | 10,242 | 5.52% |
| Other | 23,407 | 12.61% |
| Date | Higher | 1024×768 | 800×600 | 640×480 | Unknown |
| January 2008 | 38% | 48% | 8% | 0% | 6% |
| January 2007 | 26% | 54% | 14% | 0% | 6% |
| January 2006 | 17% | 57% | 20% | 0% | 6% |
| January 2005 | 12% | 53% | 30% | 0% | 5% |
| January 2004 | 10% | 47% | 37% | 1% | 5% |
| January 2003 | 6% | 40% | 47% | 2% | 5% |
| January 2002 | 6% | 34% | 52% | 3% | 5% |
| January 2001 | 5% | 29% | 55% | 6% | 5% |
| January 2000 | 4% | 25% | 56% | 11% | 4% |
As the use of laptops and wide screen desktop monitors increases, we must continue to keep an eye on how users are viewing the websites we develop.
About the Author 
Mark Thompson
Mark is the creator of StayOnSearch and president of Search Creatively, a full-service Internet Marketing Company located in Raleigh, North Carolina. He also contributes to many industry related blogs including Search Engine Journal and is active on Facebook and Twitter.Follow Mark on Twitter
7 comments
I think it's best to design a web site which adjusts to fit the user's resolution. I hate it when I have to scroll back and forth across a page to read each line of text. I still use 640×480, anything higher makes my eyes hurt. Sometimes I see people using small monitors and very high screen resolutions, I don't know how they can do it without major headaches…
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Hi,
Are there more recent statistics for this? It'd be interesting to see how the numbers evolved over the last 6 months.
[...] jQuery('ul.superfish').superfish(); }); Write For UsContactAbout HomeOptimal Screen Resolution for Web Design (2010 Update) Posted by Mark Thompson in Design/DevelopmentJan 7th, 2010 | View commentsComments Back in the May [...]
640×480? Seriously….get a new monitor!
yer shit get a new monitor!