Responsive design refers to the kind of web design that crafts websites to provide optimal viewing experiences and interactions regardless of device. In other words, responsive design makes it easier for the user to read or navigate without having to resize, pan or scroll on any device.
Responsive design has become a very important function of websites now being viewed on tablets, mobile devices and all sizes of computer monitors. Responsive design adapts to whatever screen or viewing environment by using proportion-based grids, flexible images and CSS3 media queries.
What Does Responsive Design Entail?
As mentioned above, the purpose of responsive design is to have one aesthetic for a website that involves different elements that respond to being viewed on devices of different sizes. A “fixed” website viewed on a desktop computer, for example, may have four columns of text and images. When users view the same website on a tablet, they might have to scroll down or pan from side to side in order to see all the content of the site. Elements of the site may look distorted.
Of course, the smaller the screen is, the more difficult it may be to see the full content of a website. This can affect the loading times and speed of the website. Sites can be slower to load on smartphones depending on the size and weight of the graphics. With responsive design, the website can adjust based on the device that sees it.
How Does Responsive Design Work?
Responsive designs are built on fluid grids. These page elements are sized according to proportion, rather than pixels. If there are the same four columns mentioned above, web designers wouldn’t need to say what size or width each column would be. Instead, they would input how wide the columns should be in relation to the other columns. Media, of course, is resized relatively as well. Therefore, the image can stay within its column or relative design element.
How Does Responsive Design Affect Business?
Because more people are using mobile devices and smaller screens to view websites, it’s becoming essential to design pages according to the best user experience. A small business can benefit from responsive design because users will be able to find the information they seek more easily than if the design was non-responsive. An effective way to see whether responsive design is appropriate for a website is to check how many visitors are viewing the website through mobile devices. In Google Analytics, for example, click on “Audience” and “Mobile” to see how many mobile users are coming to view each page.
Responsive design helps with search engine optimization (SEO). If a site has separate desktop and mobile sites, then each site must have a different SEO campaign. Responsive design allows the designer to manage only one SEO campaign on one website. Running one site is cost-effective as well.
Responsive Design and CTX
If you’re interested in creating fully responsive, user-friendly websites, Concordia University Texas offers an online degree in computer science to help meet your needs.