Google Browser Size

A major issue that web designer’s face when scheming out a new website is ensuring that their important content and call to actions are kept above the fold within the visible browser window. Google Browser Size is the latest beta service from Google Labs which attempts to assist with this process. Its purpose is to show if a webpage has interface elements that can not be viewed by a significant amount of the internet-browsing population due to their differing screen resolutions or how large they keep their browser window (if not maximised).

By simply entering your URL, transparent information is placed on top of the website that has been loaded in the background. It visualizes how much of the website that your visitors see without having to scroll. It also takes in to account that many users lose more space to applications such as toolbars, add-ons and other items.

For example, the 90% contour means that 90% of people visiting Google have their browser window open to at least this size or larger.

Are results too general to be reliable?

Essentially the results aren’t currently anything to get overly excited about. It is obvious that the further vertically or horizontally you go on a website, fewer people can see it although it is useful to get an idea of just how many people are potentially missing out on content that you possibly did not consider before. Also, the data is currently generated based on Google.com users. Is it not possible that different target markets have different splits rather than each website having the same static overlay? It has also been said that ‘less is more’ so many designers don’t cramp everything above the fold, but instead make good use of whitespace and imagery to encourage further exploration of the website. For example Play.com, BBC.com and Amazon.co.uk are all successful brands who find that their audience doesn’t mind scrolling to find exactly what they are looking for!

This tool has a lot of features that will benefit general web design standards, but does it really add that much use to a website redesign campaign when you already have this data (but specific to your customer base) in Analytics? Arguably yes because the new wesbite should be looking at bringing new customers in as well as servicing your existing ones. What would would be even more useful would be to allow integration of this tool with anayltics so the screen resolutions tab is shown in a visual format that is much more easily assimilated. Also this could be compared with the Google Trends general overlay to compare how different your customer base are to the general population using Google.com.

Another useful addition to the tool would be to map mobile internet usage in the same way in a seperate view or overlayed onto the same diagram. However, as it stands this will certainly be helpful for web designers or Paid Search marketers who have input on Pay Per Click landing page designs. It gives a statistically accurate portrayal of what sections of the page a percentage of users will see, providing the designer with instant visual feedback.

It worked for Google!

Data shows that Google improved the install rate of Google Earth by 10% by simply analyzing the Browser Size information of its users and moving the install button 100 pixels higher on the page. Considering that 10% of your visitors may be missing your call to action should be a good enough reason for you to see what Google Browser Size has to say about your User Interface and how you can redesign your page to good effect.

Find out exactly how and why the Google Labs team developed the Google Browser Size tool

Browser Size Analysis from Google Labs is a post from WMpS, your one stop digital agency.