what size (width and height) is considered to be a standard WebPage? could you please advise?
Most designers these days expect desktop (non-mobile) browsers to be displayed on monitors that are 1024x768. A common width is 960 pixels, which will accommodate the scrollbars and still leave a bit of room on a 1024 pixel wide screen. Height is less important to most web designers, but you can expect that 600 pixels is “above the fold” before users have to scroll.
That said, you should consider mobile and tablet browsers as well. Look into building a “responsive” site that is flexible enough to display well in a variety of viewport sizes without having to scroll horizontally.
Thank you!
could you also advise in the best way to define the width and height of my webpage - should i use CSS,
body
{
width:960px;
}
also, which size should i be using to avoid having an scroll bar e.g. for my homepage - I would like the content of my page to be on displayed on the users’ screen without needing to scroll ?
Yes, all of your styling and layout should be done in CSS. I wouldn’t set a width on the body, but this really isn’t the right place to guide you through building a site from scratch. You might want to work through a few CSS+HTML tutorials first (Google is your best resource here).
It’s better to create a “wrapper” div that holds all of your content, and then set a width on that. For maximum flexibility, rather than set a fixed width, it’s better to set just a maximum and minimum width, so that the layout can expand and contract for various screen sizes. As ras10 says, though, this is a big subject, and it would be good to do some background reading first. Building a website is like building a house, and unless you know what you are doing and make careful plans, the whole thing is likely to collapse on top of you.
Many thanks for your advise.
if possible could you provide me with an example, showing the maximum and minimum width of a typical webpage?
Stop! (in the name of love!) I’d recommend books. One great book that would seem to fit your skill-level (I hope I’m not condescending here) is Build Your Own Website the Right Way by Ian Lloyd. A great author, and a fantastic book. Check it out at your local library or buy it online.
Also, faez, for 30 minutes afterwards, you can edit your post - that’ll help stop double-posting.
~TehYoyo
Why are books so much better than books? It’s easier to access and THE SAME INFORMATION is available online. It’s not like books contain anything not available online.
The advantage of books is that they tend to introduce a subject in a much more structured and systematic way, whereas information on the web is random and incomplete … meaning that important principles can often be missed. That’s why I always advise starting with a book—at least to lay the foundations.
Nah. Books are just as good as books. 
Lol. I would argue that the content in books is much better than online. For one, it’s a commercial venture. Therefore, theoretically (and empirically), more resources are put into the publication of these products. That means that more information is in one spot (so I don’t have to search all over, ignoring Mike’s Blog about Rodents That Happens to Have a Semi-Trustworthy Example of Floats), the information is accurate, and it’s written well.
Mainly because it’s more centralized.
~TehYoyo
Whooops, that’s what I get for working 14 hours.
Meant to say why are books so much better then online. Information online isn’t random and incomplete. It only depends on where you go. I find that books, with them trying to cram a lot of information in the book, often don’t cover everything, especially hte little details.
I often advocate having online references. It’s a killjoy to run to the library or order a book online while you’re starting coding and you have to stop. Just fire up google and go.
Sure, the books don’t include the little details, but the overview they provide is really important—such as a survey of different layout methods and which works best where. I haven’t found a site that gives a single, contextual overview of CSS. So someone might Google “CSS page layout” and find some information on absolute positioning, and have no idea that there are better ways of laying out a page. Most of the people who seem to stumble around in the dark over CSS lack this crucial overview—at least in my observation.
So do sites! But books aren’t as convenient!
I haven’t found a site that gives a single, contextual overview of CSS.
That’s such a vague subject. Of course you won’t find anything specific to your liking. Search engines only work so well
Well, if someone tells you—“I need to learn CSS”, it seems silly to me to tell them to sniff around the internet to find all the bits and pieces randomly available everywhere when you could direct them to a book that gives a comprehensive introduction to the subject. But meh, to each his/her/its own. It’s not as if people haven’t heard of books.
But books aren’t as convenient!
Why do you say that?
[FONT=Verdana]Setting a width of 960px is a bad move. Although a clear majority of users are on at least 1024×768, and many using much larger screens, that doesn’t mean that you have that full space available to play with. What is becoming increasingly common is for people to have a screen resolution of 1920px wide and have two windows side-by-side, meaning each window is 960px wide … but that includes the browser chrome and scrollbar stc, so any site that is the full 960px wide will be too wide.
So if you insist on setting a fixed width (and I would still advise you not to, as a general rule), somewhere about 920px is better than 960px. But the fact remains that any fixed width is going to be wrong for a significant number of people – for some it will be too wide and for others too narrow – whereas a flexible design will work better for everyone.[/FONT]
I’ve read books on CSS, but I found that it just didn’t help for me.
Why do you say that?[/QUOTE]
Say you’re home on the computer. Which is faster? Driving 15 minutes to the library (possibly finding out the book is out), or going to search online.
Depends on what you’re looking for or how experienced you’re in with the subject matter. If you’re looking for a specific piece of information, then online is a faster resource. But if you’re looking for a comprehensive overview, or a “starter course”, a book may be a better solution.
If you don’t have a clue about what the answer could be, a book may be a better solution than trying to figure out the question to ask…
On new computers 1024 web pages occupy half of the space and look outdated.
Resolution should adapt from 1024 or 480 for mobiles to 1920 or higher.
I’d say they’re more convenient. You can’t use a computer in the bath. 
Off Topic:
At the moment, my books are all packed away in boxes and have been for the last six weeks. It’s going to be another three or four before I can be re-united with them and I’m bereft. :bawling: I would be/am lost without them.