Good width for content column?

Designing a web page for a 800x600 resolution computer

[Tusserte]

Hello everyone, I have a question that doesn't really have an exact answer. I've noticed that when coding a one column template for a screen resolution, it is actually a good idea to create the column with a width smaller than the actual screen resolution. I am currently designing a template for users with 800x600 resolutions, and would like to know what is a good width to set my column to. I was thinking about 780px because that is evenly divisible by 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 10, meaning that I would have many possibilities when splitting the page up into tables or smaller sections. Is there a reason why a 780px wide content column wouldn't be a good idea when designing a template for 800x600 users? This is assuming the window is maximized and there isn't a bulky sidebar (like a favorites tab) open. Thanks for your time.

[tedster]

If you're going to target 800x600 screen widths, then I'd suggest going just a bit narrower than 780. Some older browsers needed as much as 30 px of space for the "chrome", even with a maximized window.

[Tusserte]

I see, that is a good thing to know. What browsers exactly are we talking about here? If I'm not mistaken, IE6 should fit inside of 780px, and any other newer browser should fit as well. If the browsers you are speaking of are only used by an extremely small minority, I would really like to stick with 780. I am less worried about someone using an old, outdated browser than I am about someone using a tiny screen resolution. Do you believe that the 10% of internet users using 800x600 resolutions are also using really old browsers? I would love to stick with the 780px width, but if you believe that it will cause a problem for most of the people using the 800x600 resolutions, then I will look into alternatives. Thank you for your quick response.

[StoutFiles]

770 would be the appropriate width.

[Marcia]

I get a bit of sideways scrolling when viewing sites with 800px width - in IE6 and FF; so I stay with 770px wide, especially if there are two columns. But 760px is probably better, if possible.

With only one column, for pages that are only a column of text, there's a usability factor in the width of the line for users, for comfort level. For only text with top and/or bottom navigation only, 700px with a bit of white space on the sides is a viable option for readability.