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THIS MONTH’S WEB DESIGN TERM: RESPONSIVE WEB DESIGN

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Simba Institute
THIS MONTH’S WEB DESIGN TERM: RESPONSIVE WEB DESIGN

WHAT IS RESPONSIVE WEB DESIGN?

The phrase "responsive web design" (or "RWD") refers to websites that automatically resize and rearrange their elements to fit various screen sizes. If you grasp the corner of your browser window and enlarge or reduce it, you can see how items move on a responsive website. You can also compare it while using a PC, tablet, or smartphone.

By employing media queries in the CSS, websites may be made responsive. In essence, a media query is a line of code that determines the resolution of the device that is serving the website. Different style definitions are served up when it is determined that the device screen size is smaller than that of a desktop webpage. It is up to the web designer to choose which resolutions and how the elements should be displayed. In a moment, more on this.

 

LET’S PLAY WITH RESPONSIVE DESIGN!

Let's initially experiment with a few to gain a better sense of responsive design, shall we? The three examples below each have well-written case studies that highlight the responsive features and what it does particularly effectively. Play around with the samples by adjusting the size of your browser window as you click on them below. The optimum PC for this is a desktop or laptop.

You may observe how the pieces shift, stack, and resize themselves as you alternately resize the window. As you make the window smaller and smaller, the three columns become two, then one. On some websites, the horizontal navigation items are converted into a vertical list or perhaps even a drop-down menu. The majority of the photographs will also alter in size, as you will see.

WHY SHOULD YOU CARE ABOUT RWD?

The use of tablets and smartphones has rapidly increased in 2013; in fact, 56% of Americans currently have a smartphone. Because of this, it's imperative that your website or blog render correctly across all platforms and provide the best user experience possible to encourage readers to return for more.

 

 But on a smartphone, My Website Looks Perfect!


The majority of webpages will seem exactly as they do on a desktop, simply scaled down. Why does this matter?

Having to zoom into a website and scroll from side to side in order to read it is not a great user experience. Things working themselves into a larger (and more readable) position on small displays is better. Another justification is to make buttons and links "fat-finger friendly," or bigger and simpler to click.

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