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Layouts
The selection of a layout for pages is extremely important. Not only does it provide a consistent look and feel for the site but also sets boundaries for text layout, picture sizes, navigation bars/buttons/text, etc. While it is generally accepted to use the same basic format throughout the site the formats can be mixed when necessary such as having all main pages use side navigation menus and property pages using top only navigation t maximize photo opportunities. Industry standards for maximum page sizes continues to be 640x480. While many of us can and do set their screen resolutions to 800x600 or even 1024x768 the standard remains 640x480 for several reasons: Many web devices and browsers do not support the higher resolutions in order to allow broadcasting of content to TV's Current trends toward mobile devices or smaller monitors in mobile vehicles requires larger resolution for clarity Elderly customers as well as visually handicapped set resolutions to maximum sizes
With our practical limits set to 640x480 we must now consider what using a side menu does to our usable space. When using a side menu format, the useable area for text is significantly reduced. A typical side menu structure includes a top graphic of 150 pixels high by 600 wide and the side graphic of 150 pixels wide by 696 high. For a 640x480 monitor the viewable area is approximately 400x600 after menus and windows usage providing for 240,000 pixels of viewable area. The typical side menu top and side are consumes 127,500 pixels which is 53% of the total viewable area. Even reducing the side and top menus to a more reasonable 100 pixels at the top and 130 (an apparent standard) at the side still consumes 112,000 pixels or 46% of the viewable area. While side and top areas used for graphic presentation can provide dramatic looks, it would seem that after 3-4 pages the effect wears off and you are wasting presentation space that may be better spent on content and pictures
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Web Development
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