Bigger and Smaller

High resolution, widescreen desktop monitors are now very affordable, and website designers will be taking advantage of that space. For many years designers had been using the Grid 960 system to optimize their design dimensions. It was based on 1024×768 pixels, which was the average monitor resolution just a few years ago. On devardwebsolutions.com, only 21% of visitors last month had a screen resolution narrower than 1024. Grid 1140 was created to adjust to this increase in average size. Expect to see most new grid designs for 2011 using this wider format.

 

 

In addition to making wider sites to accommodate larger monitors, website designers will also be focusing on smaller, mobile versions of their websites. People are getting more comfortable shopping on their phones, and mobile ecommerce transactions are on the rise. Ecommerce websites will increasingly have mobile versions available, either as an app, or as an alternate, small screen friendly site.