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Google Browser Size helps you see what your site's users see
Google Labs recently released Browser Size, a browser window size visualization tool. Utilizing browser window size data from Google's home page (and thus monitoring a huge sample size of the world, much less your site's visitors), to overlay statistics, in terms of percentages of users, on top of your site (or any site you choose to enter). This data reflects visible area, not actual window size. That is, it subtracts all the toolbar fluff and lets you see what your users actually see.
This tool is very useful (if extremely ugly) for ensuring that important calls-to-action on your site are plainly visible to the widest audience possible. You can adjust the translucency of the overlay and it even allows you to interact normally with your page with the overlay on top. Nicely done, Browser Size team!
Comments
5
Subscribe to commentscam427rDec 17th 2009 2:29PM
It's nice, but it doesn't take into account websites that are centered, which are more and more common every day. Almost all blog sites are centered. If a site is centered and 960 pixels wide, it will make it look like it's too wide for a 1024x768, when in fact it fits perfectly.
JayenkaiDec 17th 2009 5:04PM
Also doesn't cater for auto-scaling sites.
techpopsDec 17th 2009 11:00PM
It might not do everything but I love stuff like this.
Many many logons ago, back when css was just a twingle in Hakon Wium Lie's eye, I'd design fluid scalable sites in hideously bloated html. Nesting tables within tables within tables. They looked great and i frowned on all those fixed width sites and their pandering to people who were still surfing at 640x on dial up.
I now know that I sucked bad with html and it was just Dreamweaver v1 that gave me the illusion I was a web god. So I say bring on any tool that helps a fledgling web developer, especially if it helps them feel like a pro.
DavidDec 18th 2009 10:11AM
What has happened to dynamically-resized web design? For a few years there I was very hopeful thinking that was the coming thing, ESPECIALLY when so many new monitors sold now are wide screen. But somehow the blogging world standardized on wasteful centered pages and much of the rest of the web followed suit (well, those that didn't just choose a static size without centering) and now 99% of the sites I look at waste 50% of my screen when I view them - this site included. I've got the screen real estate and I want it UTILIZED, dammit! I shouldn't have to scroll down to finish an article when I've got 3 inches of unused screen on each side of the content.
DavidDec 18th 2009 10:18AM
Oh yeah, I forgot to add - thank God for Bloglines. It takes the content (in the form of RSS feeds) from sites like this and gives it to me in the format *I* want, FULL SCREEN. The only time I have to actually come to the original website anymore is to post comments like this one. That cuts down greatly on my daily annoyance levels. Now if I could just convince Digg to fix their site....