What is the best screen size to build your website for?

Well, the real answer is that there is no one size that fits all. The BEST answer is that the majority of users are using a screen size today of 1024 x 768 pixels (closely followed by 1280×800).

1024×768 pixels.

Website Design - Screen Resolutions

The old standard was 800×600 pixels and you will find that 85% of the web is still this size as the sites were created many years ago. The extra width that we now get from the new standard allows us to do a lot more with the designs as well as user navigation than we could before with the narrow 800 pixels.

Optimise for 1024×768 and you can’t go wrong. This will get you into the most amount of screens at exactly the right size that your site was created at meaning you will look your best, and that is the name of the game.

You could also create LIQUID LAYOUTS that resize depending on the screen size though most designers will tell you that any design looks good at a specific size. If it resizes dynamically the width and height will change thus changing the aesthetics.