What is a Responsive Design?
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A responsive website design is a site that instantly conforms the the visitor's browser width, and in many cases, provides mobile targeted content or styles. Today, web surfers use anything from 32" big screen LCDs to 3" mobile smart phones to access websites. Tablets being in between a desktop and mobile phone, is the fastest growing segment. With today's reliable technology, website visitors expect your site to work correctly on their device... but will it? It depends on many things such as the age of the site, the version of HTML used, and most importantly, the skill set of the web designer.
Responsive design is a new initiative to design sites that scale in size automatically. In the past 8 to 10 years, it was common for designers to build 2 separate sites, one for mobile phones, and one for full size displays, then use either some JavaScript or a link to direct visitors to the correct site. Well, you can probably guess what is wrong with that. As mobile phones increase screen size, tablets become more popular, notebooks get smaller and desktop screens grow, it is impossible for only 2 versions to cover every size! Size is just the half of it. Input devices also vary, including a mouse, pens and even fingers. Responsive design also allows us to provide size targeted menus helping with clicks and website interactions.
How it Works
Responsive design uses media queries to control the styling of a website.
As you can see by the image to the left, the Ohio Web Pro Design website centers nicely in the middle of the screen on a large format, and shows all the content available.
When the browser's viewport width is constricted, menus rearrange and non-essential elements are no longer shown.
As the site's width continues to shrink, images are scaled down in size, menus adapt and the text continues to wrap, increasing the height of the site.
At the width of 300 to 400 pixels, the website is now more than likely being used on a mobile phone. Thanks the forward thinking in the early stages of planning the design of the site, button links are near perfect for selecting with a finger.
The browser's viewport size is just one of the many items we consider when designing a website. The world of web design is ever changing and more complex than most imagine. Some other variables to consider are browser age, browser type, operating system, resolution, JavaScript compatibility, handicap accessibility and usability. Still think a website builder or template is enough for your business? Think again.
