Responsive Web Design: What It is?

Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned web professional, creating responsive designs can be confusing at first, mostly because of the radical change in thinking that’s required. As time goes on, responsive web design is drifting away from the pool of passing fads and rapidly entering the realm of standard practice. In fact, the magnitude of this paradigm shift feels as fundamental as the transition from table based layouts to CSS. Simply put, this is a very different way of designing websites and it represents the future.

What is responsive design?

Responsive web design is a way of making a single website that works effectively on both desktop browsers and the myriad of mobile devices on the market. Responsive architecture gives the best quality browsing experience - whether on a smartphone, tablet, netbook or e-reader, and regardless of the operating system.

People who browse while on-the-go have very different needs than those sitting at a desk. Responsive web sites re-organize themselves automatically according to the device viewing them, so that the same website provides a great experience everywhere. Desktops get a full-blown interface with videos, large images and animations. Smartphones get a simplified website that runs fast without the bells and whistles. Tablets and netbooks get something in between.

 

Future Friendly

Responsive design is a forward-thinking technology, as it makes sites that will work on next year’s devices. One of the major challenges in providing excellent websites for the mobile user is the vast number of devices emerging in the market place. At the international Consumer Electronics Show "CES 2012" more than 40 new Andriod based mobile devices were released and this doesn’t include any devices running on other platforms like iOS, or windows mobile. It’s no longer possible to test your website on every one of these new devices.

Responsive design works by grouping similar devices by screen size together to establish the target size "break points" your site is designed for. So you’re not designing the "iPhone" version of a site; you’re designing the version intended for all smartphones. The website is flexible and respond to the exact size of the screen viewing it. When a new device comes out that’s a little larger or smaller than your target, it’s going to work well on it too.

Responsive Web Design Features

By essentially giving a custom solution for each mobile platform, responsive website design makes for a better user experience on a wider range of devices.

Different Screen Sizes

The website automatically adjusts according to the device’s screen size, and orientation. Large or small - landscape or portrait; responsive sites switches between these on-the-fly.

Adaptive Layouts

The layout of a responsive website can change to accommodate the device viewing it.  On a desktop a large menu bar is easy to read and use, but on a smartphone that same menu shrinks to a dropdown menu, simplifying the layout for the smaller screen.