Common Screen Resolutions For Web Design

a) Most Common Desktop Screen Resolutions

If you were to pick the best screen to view webpage content, it would be a desktop screen. This screen is bigger, but it also displays bigger fonts and navigation features so that users will have an easy time on your site. According to StatCounter, these are the best and most used resolutions to choose for your desktop web page version.

 - 1920x1080 is preferred by 21.69%.

 - 1366x768 is preferred by 18.42%.

 - 1536x864 is preferred by 10.42%.

 - 1280x720 is preferred by 6.04%.

 - 1440x900 is preferred by 5.85%.

b) Most Common Mobile Screen Resolutions to Design Websites Worldwide

It is incomparable to make your website mobile-friendly as more people will visit your site on mobile phones. According to StatCounter, here are the most preferred resolutions for websites between April 2021 and April 2022. 

 - 360x800 preferred by 9.13%.

 - 414x896 preferred by 6.66%.

 - 360x640 preferred by 6.22%.

 - 390x844 preferred by 5.20%.

 - 412x915 preferred by 5.04%.

c) Most Common Tablet Screen Resolutions to Design Websites Worldwide

While most site visitors will likely use mobile phones in 2022, another easy-to-use platform is a tablet. According to StatCounter, when optimising your website for easy tablet use, here are the best resolutions to use. 

 - 768x1024 preferred by 34.72%.

 - 1280x800 preferred by 6.57%.

 - 810x1080 preferred by 6.46%.

 - 800x1280 preferred by 5.82%.

 - 601x962 preferred by 4.9%.

Why Is a Screen Resolution Important? 

Gone are the days when any simple or static website design would suffice. Desktops and laptops were the order of the day a decade or so ago, but the scales have now changed with the increased reliance on mobile phones and tablets. As a result, you will now find that most website visitors use mobile devices, while a good number still use desktops, laptops, and tablets. 

When designing your new website by our web design and SEO agency, IT BOOST Australia, it is imperative for us to consider the best resolution for all users on different platforms. For this, we will need to consider how to design the website and also choose between a responsive or adaptive website design approach. 

A responsive design utilises one design layout and adapts all the design elements to be viewed on any platform such as a mobile, tablet, laptop, 2-in-1 laptop or desktop. On the other hand, an adaptive design approach uses different fixed layouts designed for each platform a visitor may use. Then, a script is assigned to adapt the webpage content to the visitor's screen size. 

Choosing the best screen resolutions for your website is an important step in making visitors comfortable going through your webpages. According to Hubspot and GoodFirms, about 73% of website visitors leave the site if they struggle when interacting with the content, and this includes content displayed improperly due to poor design. 

In addition, Google expects all websites to be mobile-friendly for easy crawling and ranking when it comes to a great SEO practice. According to Google, the engine uses a mobile and desktop crawler to go through your website pages, with the mobile crawler introduced in 2019. 

Reflecting the need to keep your pages mobile-friendly, this global study by StatCounter from February to April 2022 indicates that a large 58.16% of website visitors prefer to use mobile phones, while 39.37% and 2.47% use laptops and tablets, respectively.

How to Determine the Best Screen Resolutions for Your Website 

a) Mobile-First or Responsive Design

A responsive design is better than an adaptive design because it makes your website more responsive to all platforms. However, even when choosing a responsive design, you will need to make it very mobile-friendly, and that will require you to choose which mobile-friendly design approach is best. 

When designing a mobile-friendly website, you are left with two options; to either use a desktop resolution you can adjust for the smaller mobile screen or to use the highest mobile resolution you can adapt for larger screens. You will be able to choose the best design or wire-framing approach when you gather more data about your target audience. 

If your target audience is likely to use mobile phones more than laptops or desktops, it may be wise to design a mobile-first website that scales up to fill a laptop or desktop view.

b) Wire-framing

Wire-framing is the process you use to form your website structure for all platforms. It is your page schematic or screen blueprint that will guide your design of the final website's outlook, usability, and efficiency. When wireframing your website, you will need to consider the different screens your visitors will use, their browsers, and their page orientations, i.e., landscape or portrait viewing. 

c) Target audience

Before you can determine the best wire-framing elements, it is important to have a target audience in mind to make the most informed decisions. So, when starting your website design, you will need to understand various demographics such as your users' locations, ages, and even genders. Here is how the demographics can help you choose the best screen resolutions

 - Age. The age of your target audience can be the best indication of which screen resolution to choose. Age will help you determine which devices the audience is likely to use, from the brand to the model. You can use YouGov to track device trends if you want to know more about your target audience. 

 - Gender. Another way to determine the best resolution for your website is by understanding your target audience's genders. If you cross-examine age and gender data, you could develop better information on the devices you need to optimise your website for. Again, YouGov is an ideal place to explore gender data. 

 - Location. Before you determine the best resolution, it is ideal also to understand where your target audience lives if you want to understand the devices they could be using. The location indicates which devices are sold where and which devices are popular with men and women in certain age groups. 

Conclusion

Choosing the best website resolution is important when you want your website to rank higher for more success. However, you will need to choose the best resolutions for users viewing your pages on laptops, tablets, and smartphones, which leaves you with many options to consider. 

If you aren't sure which resolution to choose, you can conduct a target audience survey that will help you determine which devices to optimise for. That said, we have compiled the most up-to-date screen resolution data to help you design your website.