I confess. I’m a dinosaur lover. Until 2000, I used to run my adult stuff on a machine with a 100MHZ CPU, a 13-inch SVGA monitor and a 14.4k modem. Most of you probably did the same thing. I just did it longer.

In 2000, I upgraded. I bought a computer with a 500MHZ CPU, a 56K modem and 15 inch monitor. I still have that machine. I use it today and I would rather install upgraded hardware than buy a new computer. My computer serves my needs and I see no reason to go out and get the freshest model. I’m a dinosaur lover and I’m perfectly happy with my dinosaur machine.

"...half of the world's surfers have a screen resolution of 800x600 and the other half surf the net with a screen resolution of 1024x768."

Sometimes I get a little jealous when I’m on someone else’s fancy new comp. Especially when they have a big old 19-inch monitor. Looking at the web through one of those babies is pure pleasure. Images are clearer. Text is larger and easier to read. A big monitor with high resolution is a lovely thing to own.

The problem is, I get a little nervous when I think about actually owning a big monitor. I worry that if I get one; I won’t be able to create web pages which can be viewed easily on all monitors. I’d like to think that most current Internet surfers are using pretty much the same computer set-up that I’m using. Therefore, I decided to do a little research on screen resolution statistics.

According to TheCounter.com, the majority of today’s web surfers are looking at your pages through a monitor with an 800x600 screen resolution. The breakdown looks a little something like this:

44% @ 800x600
42% @ 1024x768
4% @ 1280x1024
3% @ 1152x864
2% @ 640x480
1% @ Unknown

What this means is that, half of the world's surfers have a screen resolution of 800x600 and the other half surf the net with a screen resolution of 1024x768. What this means to me, is that I am far from alone in my love of dinosaur equipment. What this means for you is, you've got two audiences to please with your site design.

When it comes to effective site layout, there are a few rules that apply. One of those rules is, everybody hates to scroll sideways. If you design your layout for viewing in a 1024x768, then those with 800x600 resolution will have to scroll sideways in order to see your page. If you want to make more than half your potential audience scroll sideways, that is your choice.

On the other hand, if you create your site for 800x600 screens, then your page layout will look all bunched up to the left on a screen with a 1024x768 resolution. Either way it seems like it is almost impossible to create one page that will look good in all browsers.

Fortunately, there is a solution to the screen resolution discrepancy dilemma: Tables. Glorious, wonderful tables.

As you may already know, a table is an HTML tag that places text and images within a box. You can code the tables on your webpage in a special way that will make them the perfect size for any screen resolution. The trick is percentages.

Normally, we're used to giving our tables a fixed pixel size. For instance, you might create your table to be 750 pixels horizontally. While that would look fine on an 800x600 screen resolution, it will appear all scrunched up to a surfer viewing your page with 1024x768 resolution. Instead of giving your tables a fixed pixel size, give them a percentage size.

As an example, you could set your table at a 90% width. This way your table will fill 90 percent of any screen, no matter the resolution size. A principal table tag with the width in percentage looks like this:

<TABLE WIDTH="90%">

This percentage method of tagging tables is an easy way to make your page look right on any screen with any resolution. Mind you, it's always a good idea to check your designs in different browsers because they don't all display pages and code exactly the same.

Now don't be sad for me. Eventually I'll get a new monitor. Until then, I'm happy to view the web with my dinosaur equipment!