On 5 Mar 2003, at 8:25, custom wrote:

> I am generally in the "design for an 800 px wide screen no
> matter what" camp. Any site that makes me scroll
> horizontally I leave immediately -- unless they've got
> something free for me.
> 
> But -- here's something to consider -- while I have never
> had a client complain about having to scroll horizontally
> (even when some had to because their screens were only 640
> wide) I have had several complain about the amount of
> "unused space" on the right hand side.
> 
> I try to explain the reasons for this to them, but it
> falls on deaf ears -- the "wasted space" theory really
> bugs them.

That mindset goes back to print media. Empty paper 
costs you money, so the idea was to put something on 
it that would make money. Similarly, some brick & 
mortar store floor layouts use as much of the floor 
space as possible for making money by putting as 
much stuff out there as possible. In a B&M store, that 
results in cluttered stores and narrow aisles, and 
always makes me think the store looks shabby and 
uninviting.

Once people realize that empty space on a web page 
costs them nothing, perhaps they'd have less problems 
with "wasted whitespace."

David
dvjones(at)ksbe.edu
 

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