Website design...a small rant.

Okay, this is an unasked for rant.  And clearly, it's just my personal opinion on the matter.   But I figure, I should say something, because it's annoying the heck out of me, and well, if I don't say something that just makes me an jerk.   Okay, I'm probably a jerk whether I say something or not, but at least this way, if I say something, then people can ignore it by choice, instead of never having been informed.

What the heck am I babbling about?   Archaic design.

I'm seeing more, and more, and more websites that seem to be designed for ease of use on older screen resolutions.  Now, I don't have a problem with wanting to keep your website accessible to as large an audience possible.  (Though I'll note that few enough people take the time to support Lynx users or make sure their sites work okay for the visually impaired, but that could be a separate rant.)   What I object to is designing it for the older screen resolutions, in such a way that makes the newer screen resolutions practically irrelevant.   I use a wide-screen monitor.   I don't enjoy reading text limited to only one half or less of my screen in a tiny narrow strip, and having to scroll ad infinitum in order to read a page.   I'm scrolling three times as much as I should need to, because people are forcing me to view their page as if I were on a smaller resolution.   Now, I understand, you shouldn't be trying to design your website specifically for my resolution, which is admittedly, very, very large.  (1920x1200)  But the design that supports lower resolution shouldn't limit me to that lower resolution.

Now, I'm not a world class web designer.  I can write html, but you start getting too fancy and you start to lose me fast.  I'm not saying whole design stinks, because that's not the case.   I'll give one specific example, though it is by no means a singular example out there in the field.  (In this case, I'm talking about Author Websites, because it's what I'm thinking about for myself.)   Jeff VanderMeer just came out with a new website Ecstatic Days.  Now, I like the look and feel of the site a lot.*  I think it is generally well done.  Except for the part where on my screen, the blue side bars take up a full 3 1/4 " of space, each side.   That means for me, I have 6 1/2"  of my 13" wide screen has a pretty blue background, but nothing useful.  That's half my screen width.   If I dropped my resolution to 1024x768 it fits perfect.  But I'll never use that resolution, because its designed around a 4:3 aspect ratio, and my monitor uses 16:9.   More, and more we're seeing the 16:9 screens out there, as High-Def starts to take over.  

If you have a site, or are updating a site, or are thinking about creating a site: keep it in mind.  Resolutions are a changing.  Screen formats are a changing.   I'm not saying don't support the older screen sizes or resolutions.   I'm just saying, don't lock yourself into one, because you shouldn't need to.


*I mean it, I like the website a lot, and wish I could do something a quarter as good.  I only used it as an example, because it's one that sticks out as a website that I think is good and yet still exhibits the behavior that's bothering me.  I didn't want to pick a website that was a stinker all around, because that might confuse the issue.

Website design...a small rant.

Okay, this is an unasked for rant.  And clearly, it's just my personal opinion on the matter.   But I figure, I should say something, because it's annoying the heck out of me, and well, if I don't say something that just makes me an jerk.   Okay, I'm probably a jerk whether I say something or not, but at least this way, if I say something, then people can ignore it by choice, instead of never having been informed.

What the heck am I babbling about?   Archaic design.

I'm seeing more, and more, and more websites that seem to be designed for ease of use on older screen resolutions.  Now, I don't have a problem with wanting to keep your website accessible to as large an audience possible.  (Though I'll note that few enough people take the time to support Lynx users or make sure their sites work okay for the visually impaired, but that could be a separate rant.)   What I object to is designing it for the older screen resolutions, in such a way that makes the newer screen resolutions practically irrelevant.   I use a wide-screen monitor.   I don't enjoy reading text limited to only one half or less of my screen in a tiny narrow strip, and having to scroll ad infinitum in order to read a page.   I'm scrolling three times as much as I should need to, because people are forcing me to view their page as if I were on a smaller resolution.   Now, I understand, you shouldn't be trying to design your website specifically for my resolution, which is admittedly, very, very large.  (1920x1200)  But the design that supports lower resolution shouldn't limit me to that lower resolution.

Now, I'm not a world class web designer.  I can write html, but you start getting too fancy and you start to lose me fast.  I'm not saying whole design stinks, because that's not the case.   I'll give one specific example, though it is by no means a singular example out there in the field.  (In this case, I'm talking about Author Websites, because it's what I'm thinking about for myself.)   Jeff VanderMeer just came out with a new website Ecstatic Days.  Now, I like the look and feel of the site a lot.*  I think it is generally well done.  Except for the part where on my screen, the blue side bars take up a full 3 1/4 " of space, each side.   That means for me, I have 6 1/2"  of my 13" wide screen has a pretty blue background, but nothing useful.  That's half my screen width.   If I dropped my resolution to 1024x768 it fits perfect.  But I'll never use that resolution, because its designed around a 4:3 aspect ratio, and my monitor uses 16:9.   More, and more we're seeing the 16:9 screens out there, as High-Def starts to take over.  

If you have a site, or are updating a site, or are thinking about creating a site: keep it in mind.  Resolutions are a changing.  Screen formats are a changing.   I'm not saying don't support the older screen sizes or resolutions.   I'm just saying, don't lock yourself into one, because you shouldn't need to.


*I mean it, I like the website a lot, and wish I could do something a quarter as good.  I only used it as an example, because it's one that sticks out as a website that I think is good and yet still exhibits the behavior that's bothering me.  I didn't want to pick a website that was a stinker all around, because that might confuse the issue.