Owing to the various types of devices that people are using to surf the internet, the trend now is Responsive Web Design:  targeting various device widths (mobile, tablet, desktop) with CSS Media Queries. 

• Guidelines for Responsive Web Design
  http://coding.smashingmagazine.com/2011/01/12/guidelines-for-responsiv e-web-design/

• Introduction to CSS Media Queries
  http://www.adobe.com/devnet/dreamweaver/articles/introducing-media-que ries.html

• CS6 Fluid Grid Layouts (6 min video)
  http://tv.adobe.com/watch/digital-design-cs6/creating-adaptive-designs -using-fluid-grid-layouts-in-dreamweaver-cs6/

Nancy O.

Hi Rob,

I didn't say it wasn't a relevant question nor did I mean to imply it.  I just tossed out another point of view for anyone who might be interested.

My site uses a semi-liquid approach:

width: 90%;

min-width: 760px;

max-width: 1280px;

N

Although real estate is a big factor, Responsive Design encompasses much more than screen size.

Ideally, the page displayed to mobiles should be a simplified version of your desktop page, mainly because there's a limit to how much content & bandwidth one can comfortably access on smaller devices.  Moreover, the mobile user is less likely to be doing deep research and is more inclined to be searching for quick basic information (i.e. phone, address, a game result, a product rating, etc..).

Desktop menus invoked with mouse hover do not work the same way on touch screens. Thus mobile menus must be designed with finger access in mind: wider hotspots & onClick trigger events.

The list goes on but I think you get the general idea that Responsive Design means creating an optimal experience for all device users.

Nancy O.

I really think that you should follow Nancy's advice, no matter how subtle she is. I'm afraid that looking at the sites that you have quoted, you are looking at ancient technology. In fact the latter even states

This is for desktop and laptop computers; not mobile devices

Over the Holiday period, we played host to a myriad of people from all over Australia and beyond. Their favourite way to communicate with the Internet was by using mobile devices. Mobile devices outnumbered laptops by 10 to 1 (there were no desktops).

Have a look here http://jeffbridgforth.com/responsive-web-design/

There is no need to extend yourself outside of what you are capable of doing. By the same token, you should not become an osterich, with due respect to this remarkably responsive (pun intended) bird.

Please note what Nancy said:

My site uses a semi-liquid approach:

width: 90%;

min-width: 760px;

max-width: 1280px;