Changing Smart theme from 800 to 1024 width

[JimboS]

I am probably being a real numb-nuts here but …

I am trying to change to a 1024 width but am having problems finding which bits in the CSS will change the various sections widths.

Does anyone know which bits in the style sheet I need to change to set the width of the left and right side bars and the central area? I had assumed that the central area would fill the remainder but when I have managed to alter a few things, half the text in the centre appears to disappear into nothingness.

For the side bars I thought changing the 170px in the code below would work, but no joy.
.page_body_content_left_column {
float: left;
width: 170px;
}

You see what I mean here http://www.viteyes.co.uk/acatalog/te..._Advanced.html

James

[leehack]

Download Firefox plus the Firebug addon, these allow you to drill down or inspect specific areas on the page and change sizes/styles on the fly. A must for all designers and DIYers.

[RuralWeb]

The answer is on the forum somewhere I remember it being posted ages ago.

[jont]

That theme is tabled so you can simply hard code the width into the outer <table> or it may possibly be declared in the site settings (never use tabled themes so not sure exactly where it is declared but it should be obvious)

[Quantum]

It is in the main table layout. I can't post the actual position until this evening but I seem to remember if you are on your home brochure page and click on the Design tab somewhere near the top of the code it will refer to the width as 100% which you can change to a fixed width. I can't remember whether I had to change it for the logo and nav bar as well as the main area. You do have to change it on both your home layout and your catalogue layout though.

[Ho Ho Bird]

1024 because I read 800 is old-hat

I read the recent post saying 800 width is a thing of the past. Having just built my site at 800 it was a bit of a blow, as changing it obviously means more work than the technical 'how-to' in this thread.

I always reference John Lewis and Marks & Spencer to see where their sites are going, as they obviously spend £millions. John Lewis has grown wider, Marks & Spencer still seems to be at 800. (If I start to understand the technical side).

Is it just me, or is there something pleasing about 800 wide? On my monitor it is virtually the same size as A4 paper in it's usual vertical format. Am I the only one programmed to find this easier to 'scan' (read) than 1024 and wider?

John Lewis now use their new width to list products in rows of 4 when it used to be 3. I thought 3 was a magic number when hanging paintings etc.

Any fellow luddites willing to join a campaign to save 800?

[TraceyHand]

you're right actually, Peter
M&S do still use 800, as does the BBC website (which is pretty dire but I'm sure still gets plenty of use!)
Maybe you get so big you don't NEED to pay so much attention to progress?

[pinbrook]

Is it just me, or is there something pleasing about 800 wide?

IMO it depends on your screen resolution and what you get used too.

if for example you regularly use a 1280+ wide res, 800 tends to look small and squashed. As more and more people use larger monitors 19", 21" and so on they also increase the resolution, thus 800 starts to look silly.

[leehack]

Any fellow luddites willing to join a campaign to save 800?

Only Jurassic Park could bring back extinct things, although i think 770 wide sites with frames are a thing of beauty.

[Ho Ho Bird]

I'm afraid I don't have enough subject knowledge to know if Lee's reply is sarcastic.......but I guess he's not joining us.

[RuralWeb]

800 is totally dead IMO - build sites that are fluid and let the user decide how they want to view the site.

[leehack]

What i don't get is how any DIYer, experienced or not, who has started a website build in the past 12 months, somehow makes the mistake to build it for an 800 wide screen. Where is that decision made, on what basis.

One only has to look on the web to see the most glaring answers you could ever ask for. You need no web knowledge, you need no experience, just open your eyes and look at the web around you. If that fails, visit everyone in the world you have ever known and for every 800 wide screen you find i will give you £10, for every screen larger than this, you give me 10p. I'll see you in Hawaii.

I genuinely find it absolutely incredible that anyone gets this wrong.

[RuralWeb]

Where is that decision made, on what basis

Most people pick a theme and go on from there - most of them are 800. Lets see what v9 brings

[RuralWeb]

there are probably many other good reasons

The biggest one in my book is that a larger site size allows you to use relative text sizes which can be resized by the viewer. 800 sites generally have fixed font sizes so they dont burst the site if resized - this means that a visitor who has poor eyesight will leave immediately to find a site with bigger text.

The surfing population is changing and the big spenders are in the 50 - 60 age group (baby boomers) they use PCs unlike that group 5 years ago and they have lots of money to spend online. If your site does not cater for them then you will miss out.

[leehack]

Most people pick a theme and go on from there - most of them are 800. Lets see what v9 brings

Do you really think that's what it is, so people genuinely forget about the screen size they are using and also the vast majority of sites they visit and just pick a quick and easy theme so they can get something thrown up on the web.

If that's the thought process, then no wonder the web is so full of garbage at the moment. The government should run a law stating that all sites have to be professionally built and also place a price cap on it, so that everyone can afford it. The web would just be a better place and most site owners would have nicer looking, better to use and more profitable websites IMO.