The term responsive web design has come about from the huge array of tablets, laptops, iPhones, iPads, desktops, web browsers and operating system that the Internet currently finds its way onto. As fast as the technology changes, it’s a miracle that web designers have managed to keep up and ensure that the Internet you see on a handheld device is virtually the same as what everyone else sees. The overwhelming number of devices can be a problem, however, when attempting to create a site to advertise your services which consistently works well across the board. While web developers and designers may still code different sites to ensure equal functionality, this is beginning to change under the technique of responsive design. Responsive design will likely change the way we code as well as how we interact with the Internet on devices off all shapes and sizes.
But What IS Responsive Web Design?
As the name implies Web development which takes into consideration the way the device it will appear on will respond is what responsive web design is all about. In other words, you could view content on your laptop, then decide to view it on your handheld device and with the new technology your handheld will be smart enough to present the code in a different way, taking into account the size and resolution of the screen in your hand. Text will be flowed differently, and navigation may be simplified. Images can be hidden or shrunk at the very least, but through all of this the code needs only be written once.
How Responsive Design Can Help the Smaller Firm
If your firm is small to medium-sized, your design and development resources could be in short supply, yet it may not make sense to waste your time and resources to maintain separate mobile and desktop sites. Therefore, responsive design can be a huge boon to the smaller business, giving them the ability to make changes only once and have those changes reflected from one platform to another, reaching a much wider audience. Responsive design ensures that your firm’s mobile presence ceases to be an afterthought becoming a fundamental area of design and development. Google has even grudgingly begun to embrace the theory of responsive design with their Webmaster blog guide. Responsive design is much more than simply scaling down components of your site so it will fit nicely on a smaller platform.
Technical Features of Responsive Web Design
The primary factors involved in responsive web design as far as technical features include flexible images and media through the use of CSS or resizing, a flexible, grid-based layout, and media queries. For responsive web design to truly work, all three of these factors must be integrated with a goal of adapting to every user’s needs. The fluid, grid-based layout expands with the page and is slowly replacing the page designs with a fixed number of pixels, precisely centered. The fluid grid, once squeezed onto a tiny mobile device automatically resizes the width of all elements in relation to one another.
Even so, a complex, three-column layout will not work well on a small mobile phone. In the case of extreme size changes, the layout should likely be changed altogether through the use of one primary style sheet with flexible widths and floats being defined. Touchscreens must also be considered as they are gaining in popularity. In fact, when engaging in responsive design you should probably assume that handheld devices will have touchscreen functions but don’t forget that laptops and desktops are increasingly being outfitted with touchscreen technology as well. Because there is no cursor, touchscreens are without the ability to display CSS, so you cannot rely on this for link definition. While it probably sounds impossibly technical, responsive web design can truly change the way we read the web, thus the way potential clients you’re your legal website.
