How to decide what resolution to be used for website?

[lapunluyang]

There was a time when 800x600 resolution was used for websites because 14" monitors was IN but now they are used very less. Now 17" monitors have taken their place.
So the usage of monitors will decide what website resolution to be used? or you will see the content of your site, if you have more content you will use 1024 resolution and if you have less content then you will go with 800 resolution.
How do you decide that?
I prefer setting the website resolution based on the size of the content. If you have less content and you use 1024 resolution then your site will have lots of empty space, vice versa for more content and less resolution.
What is your thought about it?

[haranaboy]

Hi lapunluyang,

For me, I would set my screen resolution no matter the content. I would just "organize" the content to make the page layout more pleasing to the eye. According to w3schools, as of January 2010 "most computers are using a screen resolution of 1024x768 pixels or higher"

One example I would give is Google's website. Although there's not much there, it looks clean and very easy to work with.

[zuchri]

liquid layouting will do the job, but indeed keep in mind that >70% users are now on screen with 1024x768 higher, using multiple stylesheet would also be a good idea, since now many devices available

[ebay1989]

I agree with haranaboy, I also set my resolution no matter the content and I use 1024.

[Elihu5991]

What is your target audience? iPhones/iPod Touch, PDA, Mobiles, Android, PSP, iPad, .etc . They all require different resolutions.

[shoestring]

In general, 1024x768 is good. However, if you are talking about an existing site, then it's best to have a look at google analytics (assuming the site has been using that for a while) - you can then check what resolution your visitors are using and also what the bounce rate is for that resolution. If you have a large percentage of user using some weird resolution and having significantly higher bounce rate than visitors with other resolution, then you may want to change the layout to accommodate for that weird resolution.

[Borzoi]

In my opinion, the best way to make a site is one that doesn't require a set maximum width. I would make it so that if the user has a high resolution (for example 1920x1080) then the site would expand to fit so as to minimise empty space but for users with a low resolution or users that don't maximise their browser, it would go to a minimum width of about 900px (to accommodate the slight variation in display area between browsers).

[Elihu5991]

When coding your site, instead of using fixed pixels, change them to percentages. They way, you can accommodate for all audience. Make sure your content is flexible (ie. able to still like aesthetically pleasing even if the content was shift around because of the resolution.

[agrable]

I agree that 800x600 is dead, but there are still some people (my secretary for one) who still insist on setting their resolution for that because it's larger. I design for the 1024x768 but I usually make the site 900 wide. The reason is that I put some interesting graphics in the background so that 1024x768 customers get a little "something" extra on the design and 800x600 customers aren't stuck with scrolling horizontally.