Google has released a handy application that allows you to determine what users see at a glance when they first visit your site. This free tool is a good way to determine if your key information and call to action buttons are accessible to most users during their first impression of your site.
After you enter your site’s url, the Google tool shows an overlay of your site with screen resolutions in pixels along each axis and the corresponding average percentage of users viewing your site at these resolutions. Take a look at the tool in action on the City of Summerside’s website:
There is a great deal of debate about whether or not people are willing to scroll. Current thinking seems to be that users no longer mind scrolling vertically as much, but still loathe the horizontal scroll. I believe that people are willing to scroll (either way) if you give them a compelling reason to do so – i.e. “Does it appear that I will I find what I am looking for/interested in on this site?”. The Google Browser Size tool is helpful in determining how quickly someone will be able to answer this question, and can assist you in tweaking your site layout and design to increase the chances that someone will see the key stuff first and be compelled to delve deeper.