I really enjoy statistics and have run into some nice summaries today.
If you are curious about what monitor resolution people are using, which browser, which operating system, etc. here is a link that gives some trends over time.... Browser Statistics
I was surprised to see that Mac operating system was NOT going extinct. Also I think that we are almost to the point where 800x600 resolution designs are undersized for all but a few users.... In fact, I am going to kick up some of my pages to 1024x768.
Also, was reading about Internet users by language. Check out the "penetration by language" stats and the "growth for language stats". Lucky people are those with an inclination for Chinese and an interest in SEO - that language has the lowest penetration and one of the highest growth rates.
Top 50 Internet Advertisers by Media Value. If these folks are spending the bucks then there must be some buyers out there. There might be some good generic affilite programs here.
Also some stats for the Top 25 Companies / Stickiest Brands on the Web - "largest unique audience" and "time per person". Google is down at #4 - probably because they are not as strong in the content department.... but seems strange to me that microsoft and yahoo have such small search penetrations in comparison of more people are on their site for longer periods of time. This means that visitors deliberately leave them to search at Google (or use the toolbar).
What do you take away from this stuff? I have two ideas... 1) I am designing my next site for 1024x768, and 2) I am going to the "Top 50 Internet Advertisers" list to pick up some generic affiliate program ideas.
When it comes to getting global stats, I put my trust on TheCounter. Their monthly summaries pull together nearly 150 million users, so I think this is much more versatile than w3schools summaries (tough I love their service).
Thanks for the link, 2K... 17% there at 800x600... I still think that it's time to design for larger resolution. That resolution is falling on my sites too.
thanks for thew link again
Thanks EGOL.
I love information like this and statistic. I'm going to mull over it for a while...and read other people's ideas.
I love that list of 50 top advertisers. As you suggested there are generic affiliate opportunities to be gleaned from the groups that are already spending a ton.
I was grabbed by #46 on the list, Strayer College, with which I am familiar because they are local to the DC area, where I live.
The company makes lots of money, has been very successful and has expanded dramatically over the years.
Amazing that a strictly regional business (now stretching a bit up and down the mid Atlantic) is such a big player in the internet advertising world.
I'd say there are a lot of ideas in there and ways to skin a cat.
Dave
Firstly, 20% is a lot of people, and this is a site for web design type people who will likely be using a higher screen resolution. I think it's sad that people are jumping on 1024 so fast when it's clear that a significant percentage of people are still on 800x600. 17 or 20% isn't insignificant. Think about how many people that is given your traffic statistics. If it was 5% maybe you could consider going larger.
Secondly, there is no statistic to show what screen width people are actually browsing at. Just because someone has their screen resolution set at a certain size doesn't mean they always have their browsers maximized. I like to keep mine at about 950px because I have my Opera panels on one side. Some people might like to keep the IE search toolbar there, who knows.
Thirdly, increasing screen resolution isn't just a matter of better technology or people learning how to change theirs. Some people don't have great eyesight and want things to be bigger. Are you going to close your site off to them? What about people who can't afford to get a better computer. Are they excluded too?
And finally, it is possible to make a design that works for more than one screen resolution. There is no reason why a site needs to expand to 1024 when it could work perfectly well at 800. Fixed width at 800 is fine for the average site (and keeps line lengths short enough for all users). Flexible designs can also be made to accommodate a range of resolutions. The only sites that really need to go bigger would be complex portal sites like news sites that have a lot of content - even there you can make sure that the right column doesn't contain key content.
The points at the bottom of the W3 schools page under "Statistics Are Often Misleading" are important too.
Sorry for the long post!
No, I agree, Megan. I'm thinking that, if I want to design for resolutions above 800x600, I'll go fluid. At least, that's what I'm thinking now, because fluid design has its own issues.
I think that people that still use the 800x600 resolution are not increasing their resolution because there are so many well designed sites that are created for that size; why should they move up?!
LOL ... designers may be the cause for slowing the rate at which that percentage drops. [just another angle on the issue] 8)
Very cool. And smart.
Here's my take on the statistics, which I've been watching for a number of years. If you have a techie site (including SEO), then you're probably safe to design for resolutions above 800x600. But if the site content is intended for non-webby type audiences, then you're safer at 800x600.
Then there's the whole fluid-versus-fixed argument. I think whichever one works better has a lot to do with your design layout. If fluid means, to your design, that the lines of text could be tremendously wide, then that could affect readability.
This is one area in which I envy print designers. Once printed, paper does not change size. Nor do colors change. Well, nor does content necessarily need to be fit into neat little boxes. OTOH, our medium of choice means that edits can be brought to the public with blazing speed, all things being equal. And we're not constrained by paper sizes or cost of printing and distribution; nor are we subject to lengthy process delays.
You're right. As a matter of a fact, we've just done a website for elderly people at DirectAlert and there was no way I was going to force 20-25% of the population to use an horizontal nagivation bar to be able to see the website to its full extent. Also, we added some text site button into the design to help for people which have a hard time reading.
Mike, the W3schools Browser stats page has this mid-page:
I wouldn't jump on 1024x768 too fast unless your website requires more room. Major platform still use 800x600, and there are at least 15% people still on the 800x600. We monitor ~50 websites here, including 20 closely, and the % of 800x600 varies from 10% up to 31%. The best suggestion I could give you is to build your site in CSS and detect what resolution they have and then offer the proper design having done 2 layouts ;)
But seriously, NVI is trying to stick with 800x600... Some 1024x768 websites lack content and they look terrible.
My 2 cents.
I'd be going off the stats of visitors to the site you're thinking of changing, not those of people who visit a different site. Not that hard to gather your own stats for a couple of months :)
Hen gao xing yu xian ni wo de ming-zi jiao Trond
The Chinese market will be a gold mine in a few years.
Since have atleast one popular web site you should consider having some of the core content translated into Chinese, just to get a head start.
"the % of 800x600 varies from 10% up to 31%."
Would be better to keep 70 - 90% of the people happy than have a site confined to a smaller user group.
Although like you say, analysing your own stats to find out what your own user group stats are is the best option.
Anyone know any good stats packages that has this built in, have used webalyser as it came free gratis but doesnt give a lot of deatailed info, recently signed up with google analytics but I dont think it gives this kind of info...
Hi Ally! Yes, Analytics does - look under Content Optimization > Web Design Parameters > Screen Resolutions Hmmm.... nothing on 600 x 480 and only 13% on 800 x 600. Thats something to think about.... ;)
Analytics provides way more than just the resolution. Also, we are not talking about "pleasing" 70-90% of the people; those people will still be able to navigate no problem... And I do think that some "air" on the left/right side of a website (like seomoz.org) helps to focus our eyes on the content.
If you want a free 3rd party, I recommend "TraceICS"; simple, slick, effective, free, and it is public!
I have been watching the resolution stats for a while now too and also think that it is time to make my designs in 1024x768. I don't know anyone with a 15" any more anyway. My thoughts are, if you still have a 15" or you need the 800x600 resolution because of bad eye sight, it is time to step into the present and upgrade to a decent monitor! I can fit so much more into a bigger design!
8)