A system and method for ensuring application content is displayed in a proper sized display is provided. An illustrative web-based application detects the display characteristics, e.g., size and/or aspect ratio, of its display window. If the display characteristics do not match a predefined requirement, the application ceases updating content and displays resizing notifications to alert the user to adjust the window. Once the window's display characteristics match the predefined criteria, the application resumes updating content in the window.