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#1 2018-03-06 05:36:23

TBC
Member
From: North Carolina, US
Registered: 2014-03-19
Posts: 178
Website

Optimum Website Width

There are different opinions on the optimum website width to accommodate cross-platforms.

For Backlight, what is considered ideal these days, understanding that there are not necessarily any hard-and-fast rules?

Thanks, and take care,


TBC (The Barefoot Contessa, alias Margo Taussig Pinkerton)
https://www.BCphotoadventures.com/
https://www.BC-FineArtPhotography.com/
perpetual works in progress

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#2 2018-03-06 06:12:19

rod barbee
Moderator
From: Port Ludlow, WA USA
Registered: 2012-09-24
Posts: 17,830
Website

Re: Optimum Website Width

You probably can't go wrong sticking with the defaults Matt has included. I think the default is 1140px.

Sometimes I'll make the Main Copy width even narrower (like 860px) for ease of reading, leaving the main layout width at 1140px.
This helps if you've got a bunch of text. It's just easier on the eyes if they don't have to travel a long way across the page to start the next line.

The break-point is also something to consider. At what width do you want the mobile layout to take over? Personally, I like having my desktop navigation on my iPad in landscape mode. Smaller than that, I have it set to use the mobile navigation.


Rod 
Just a user with way too much time on his hands.
www.rodbarbee.com
ttg-tips.com, Backlight 2/3 test site

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#3 2018-03-06 06:55:47

TBC
Member
From: North Carolina, US
Registered: 2014-03-19
Posts: 178
Website

Re: Optimum Website Width

Very useful information, Rod. I'll try those suggestions.


TBC (The Barefoot Contessa, alias Margo Taussig Pinkerton)
https://www.BCphotoadventures.com/
https://www.BC-FineArtPhotography.com/
perpetual works in progress

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#4 2018-03-06 10:14:29

Matthew
Administrator
From: San Francisco, CA
Registered: 2012-09-24
Posts: 5,795
Website

Re: Optimum Website Width

I agree with Rod's points.

Something else to consider, how many columns you're using.

In general, you want to manage the width of the content body for comfortable reading. When content gets too wide, it becomes difficult to track from the end of one line to the beginning of the next. In fact, this is one of the biggest, most obvious mistakes I see web-designers committing on the modern web. To the point, I sometimes open the browser's developer tools in a sidebar, or switch the browser into responsive-preview mode, just to narrow content to be more readable.

So if you have only a single column, then I would keep things narrower. I think 1140px works well here.

If you're running two columns, you can go wider, to 1280px or 1366px. It's safe to go wider still if you're using three columns.

If you want to go super wide for your thumbnail galleries, then you have options in Backlight to constrain the width of your content area to a smaller size, or better legibility.


Matt

The Turning Gate, http://theturninggate.net

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