Average laptop desktop web browser size
The blank fields show what is not mentioned explicitly in the article. Source: Jacob Nielsen’s article “ Screen resolutionĪnd page layout“. Screen real-estate available for browser. I wanted to take this quote and the other facts from the article and show it in a tabular format: Window size variability is even greater, since users don’t always maximize their browsers (especially if they have large screens). So, in general operating system and browser window consumes 22×170 pixels.ĭoes this mean that we’re safe if we optimize for 1004×598? Well, not entirely. (That’s what sometimes is referred to as “browser chrome”. Likewise, the standard browser toolbar, statusbar, scrollbar subtracts an additional 22×140 pixels.
Average laptop desktop web browser size windows#
This is because of the Windows XP task bar that is 30 pixels high in the standard configuration. You might notice that browser window height in the screenshots above is smaller than screen size. The figures show that the “browser real estate” available for actual content is smaller. To illustrate the difference, look at these examples that show the difference between screen size and browser content area.ġ024×768 screen resolution gives 1004×598 usable contentĪrea (maximized Internet Explorer window, Windows XP)Ĩ00×600 screen resolution gives only 778×430 usable content People working professionally with web know the difference between screen size and browser content area, but to make it clear I wanted to illustrate that screen size is irrelevant in comparison to other more important metrics. What’s equally obvious, however, is that you can’t simply ignore 17% of your customer segment by providing a frozen layout that requires more screen space than they have available. In comparison, only about 17% use 800×600 so it’s obviously less important to aim at perfection for these small-display users. (More precisely, browser content area, which we’ll get back to shortly)Ĭurrently, about 60% of all monitors are set at 1024×768 pixels. There is just one problem: Findings should focus on browser window size and not screen size. I have the deepest respect for Jakob Nielsen and the work he does to make usability easier to understand and use for everybody. Optimize Web pages for 1024×768, but use a liquid layout that stretches well for any resolution, from 800×600 to 1280×1024.Īs usual, Jakob offers some decent facts and clear guidelines on which screen resolution to design for. Jakob Nielsen discusses screen resolution and page layout in a recent Alertbox article.
Average laptop desktop web browser size update#
Update : Baekdal has published numbers (hard evidence) on browser size.