Ask Randell

This is my first attempt at creating my own unique wordpress theme. You can download it here if you like it. It’s basically the default Kubrick theme with a different color scheme and resized columns. Speaking of resizing columns, it posed my first dilemma and a good topic for the first post here. I originally went with a total page width of around 960 pixels (px). I wanted a wider sidebar than usual, thinking I would eventually optimize this for AdSense or monetize this blog with other advertisements or promotions. But then realized that many people still use a screen resolution (maximum pixels displayed on your monitor listed as horizontal pixels by vertical pixels) of 800 by 600 which would create annoying (at least annoying to me) sidewards scroll bars to view the entire page. So I reworked the page size to 760 px and shrunk the sidebar to a modest 250 px, which I wanted at the minimum, for the very productive 250 by 250 ad. I didn’t really like that and having already worked the header image and really wanting the sidebar larger without having the posting column excessively narrow, back to 960 px wide it went. 

As a website designer or publisher it is important (and often overlooked) to have a your website optimized for the most common screen resolution for the intended target audience. For instance a website geared to an older generation would be best suited under 800 px wide as they probably prefer the larger appearance of the 800 by 600 resolution, while a website intended for gamers could probably utilize more screen area as screen resolution is probably pretty high for someone interested in online gaming.

So how do you determine your target audience and determine your optimum website resolution? You could always just ask.

So I am curious …

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I have not really determined a target audience nor have any idea who would be reading this or their screen resolution settings. I went with the wider format based on my assumption that the most common resolution is 1024 x 768 and the logic of, if you are still using the 800 by 600 resolution then you are used to scrolling sideways to see all the content.  Besides, I didn’t want to spend the time reworking the graphics  just yet, who knows, as I do a lot of tweaking with website themes and templates, maybe I will change this, but for now, if you have to scroll, hope you are used to it and it doesn’t keep you from coming back again.

Comments are welcome below.