minimum specs for web

scanner · 11-28-2010, 04:07 PM

hello

what are the minimum screen specs so that you can view a webpage and read its text without zooming and without scrolling right and left?

thanks

susan_cassidy · 11-28-2010, 06:46 PM

Not sure what you mean. There are no specifications saying what sizes a web page has to use. Browser windows resize everything when you change the window size, unless the stuff on the page has specific sizes for everything.

Worldwalker · 11-28-2010, 09:24 PM

That depends on the page.

Some people build pages to be readable in microscopic windows. Some build them that go off the screen on my 23" widescreeen. Some set the text in fonts so big you get ten characters to the line, and some set it in microscopic point sizes that you have to enlarge just to read.

Anyone who knows their job builds liquid layouts that will resize themselves to whatever your screen or window size happens to be, have civilized text that won't break if you control-wheel or whatever your browser's size changing is, and deal gracefully with IE's bugs (IE6 needs to die, NOW). Sadly, maybe 5% of the commercial sites on the Web are built by people who know their jobs, another 30% are built by people who think their jobs are to sell websites, and the other 65% are built by the owner (bad) or the owner's brother's girlfriend's cousin (worse) and look like it; for non-commercial sites, it's 5/0/95%. So they probably have strange text sizes, stranger colors, all centered, and they blink.

The bottom line is there is no minimum spec. No matter what you have, there will always be some wanker out there who builds a page that breaks it. It's what they do.

I'd suggest, though, that MobileRead is probably not the ideal place to ask this. Most of the folks here are bookworms, not website designers (though I'm both).

Maggie Leung · 11-28-2010, 10:18 PM

Some pages will scale to fit various screen sizes, but the type might be too small for your eyesight, too pinched for reasonable navigation and such. You might wanna test drive a few devices that you're interested in, use 'em to check out some of the sites you regularly visit, to see what works best for you. And if Flash is important to you, you might wanna avoid iPad.

11-28-2010, 04:07 PM	#1
scanner Member Posts: 24 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2008 Device: sony	minimum specs for web hello what are the minimum screen specs so that you can view a webpage and read its text without zooming and without scrolling right and left? thanks

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11-28-2010, 06:46 PM	#2
susan_cassidy Wizard Posts: 2,251 Karma: 3720310 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: USA Device: Kindle, iPad (not used much for reading)	Not sure what you mean. There are no specifications saying what sizes a web page has to use. Browser windows resize everything when you change the window size, unless the stuff on the page has specific sizes for everything.

11-28-2010, 09:24 PM	#3
Worldwalker Curmudgeon Posts: 3,085 Karma: 722357 Join Date: Feb 2010 Device: PRS-505	That depends on the page. Some people build pages to be readable in microscopic windows. Some build them that go off the screen on my 23" widescreeen. Some set the text in fonts so big you get ten characters to the line, and some set it in microscopic point sizes that you have to enlarge just to read. Anyone who knows their job builds liquid layouts that will resize themselves to whatever your screen or window size happens to be, have civilized text that won't break if you control-wheel or whatever your browser's size changing is, and deal gracefully with IE's bugs (IE6 needs to die, NOW). Sadly, maybe 5% of the commercial sites on the Web are built by people who know their jobs, another 30% are built by people who think their jobs are to sell websites, and the other 65% are built by the owner (bad) or the owner's brother's girlfriend's cousin (worse) and look like it; for non-commercial sites, it's 5/0/95%. So they probably have strange text sizes, stranger colors, all centered, and they blink. The bottom line is there is no minimum spec. No matter what you have, there will always be some wanker out there who builds a page that breaks it. It's what they do. I'd suggest, though, that MobileRead is probably not the ideal place to ask this. Most of the folks here are bookworms, not website designers (though I'm both).

11-28-2010, 10:18 PM	#4
Maggie Leung Wizard Posts: 1,449 Karma: 58383 Join Date: Jul 2009 Device: Kindle, iPad	Some pages will scale to fit various screen sizes, but the type might be too small for your eyesight, too pinched for reasonable navigation and such. You might wanna test drive a few devices that you're interested in, use 'em to check out some of the sites you regularly visit, to see what works best for you. And if Flash is important to you, you might wanna avoid iPad.