Web design is one of the most important elements of your website and ties together aesthetics, navigation, and content to create an effective experience that encourages greater conversions. There are plenty of web design guidelines to keep you on your toes and create something that maximizes usability and aesthetic appeal, but one of the growing online trends is responsive web design. What is responsive web design, and what can you do to make it work on your site?
What is Responsive Design?
Responsive design is all about flexibility, adapting to changes in the environment, and predicting how a user may use a particular page. It came as a response to the growth of hardware as people were browsing less and less on desktops and laptops and more on smart phones, tablets, and other devices.
In the beginning, sites only had one design over all devices. You can imagine the difficulty that comes with navigating a full desktop site on a much smaller mobile device. Over time, developers and web designers realized that mobile versions of their websites were a necessity. It wasn’t exactly forward thinking, but it was an effective solution at the time. So developers had two versions of the site, one for the desktop, one for mobile, but what about touch screen tablets? What about large, hi-res displays larger than normal desktop screens? Developers had to address the changing scope of web browsers and how they were used in a more concrete way. After all, they couldn’t create seven different versions of the same site. Hence responsive design.
Fluid Grids and Media Queries
“Fluid” really is one of the best words to describe responsive design. Traditionally, sites had fixed-width layouts. Page designs have a specific number of pixels across with the content centered on the page, which becomes a problem when you consider the different screen sizes and resolutions out there.
Fluid grids do away with the concept of rigid pixels and percentage values. In a fluid grid, all of the elements in the layout resize themselves in relation to one another, resulting in a site that looks fine on a big screen or a tiny mobile phone.
However, a site’s design can look horrendous if you narrow down your browser size enough. The solution: media queries. Media queries allow you to gather data about a visitor to your site and apply specific CSS styles. If, for instance, a visitor is browsing on a mobile phone, the site can automatically move navigation bars, remove unnecessary elements, or shrink down the three column layout into just two.
Switching Mindsets
To implement responsive design, you have to change your mode of thinking. While there’s nothing wrong with having a dedicated mobile site based on your business model, responsive design is less about isolated, device-specific sites and more about considering the viewing and browsing context. It’s about considering different user experiences and adapting accordingly.
If you’re considering implementing responsive design into your website, this responsive web design article is a great place to start. Good luck, and remember the advice of Bruce Lee when it comes to design. Be water, my friend—let your design flow with the many technological changes we’re bound to experience in the future.
What is Responsive Design?
In the beginning, sites only had one design over all devices. You can imagine the difficulty that comes with navigating a full desktop site on a much smaller mobile device. Over time, developers and web designers realized that mobile versions of their websites were a necessity. It wasn’t exactly forward thinking, but it was an effective solution at the time. So developers had two versions of the site, one for the desktop, one for mobile, but what about touch screen tablets? What about large, hi-res displays larger than normal desktop screens? Developers had to address the changing scope of web browsers and how they were used in a more concrete way. After all, they couldn’t create seven different versions of the same site. Hence responsive design.
Fluid Grids and Media Queries
“Fluid” really is one of the best words to describe responsive design. Traditionally, sites had fixed-width layouts. Page designs have a specific number of pixels across with the content centered on the page, which becomes a problem when you consider the different screen sizes and resolutions out there.
Fluid grids do away with the concept of rigid pixels and percentage values. In a fluid grid, all of the elements in the layout resize themselves in relation to one another, resulting in a site that looks fine on a big screen or a tiny mobile phone.
However, a site’s design can look horrendous if you narrow down your browser size enough. The solution: media queries. Media queries allow you to gather data about a visitor to your site and apply specific CSS styles. If, for instance, a visitor is browsing on a mobile phone, the site can automatically move navigation bars, remove unnecessary elements, or shrink down the three column layout into just two.
Switching Mindsets
To implement responsive design, you have to change your mode of thinking. While there’s nothing wrong with having a dedicated mobile site based on your business model, responsive design is less about isolated, device-specific sites and more about considering the viewing and browsing context. It’s about considering different user experiences and adapting accordingly.
If you’re considering implementing responsive design into your website, this responsive web design article is a great place to start. Good luck, and remember the advice of Bruce Lee when it comes to design. Be water, my friend—let your design flow with the many technological changes we’re bound to experience in the future.
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