Today, we don’t just use computers to access the internet. We view web pages with mobile devices, tablets and more, and that’s what makes responsive web design so necessary. When web designers implement responsive web design, they make their web content compatible with many different sizes of windows and screens, allowing it to be viewed with ease from multiple devices. The moment when you know how to design responsive websites as you seek a career in web design, you’ll feel rewarded in having the skills to create web pages that can reach more viewers and gain more traction.
Below, discover more about what exactly responsive web design is, the fundamental components of responsive design, and why it’s important.
What Is Responsive Web Design?
If you’re taking web design, you probably know that website content is created within a certain layout. While on a desktop, website content is typically separated into several large columns which can be read on a wide screen. This content, however, is not always readable on a smaller device.
Website content designed for a desktop is not always readable on a mobile phone
Responsive design enables web designers to create many different layouts of content and cater it to different screen sizes. While the basic file is the same, the layout is rendered differently depending on the screen size, using a code. As there are over twenty different types of screen sizes, given the many variations between tablets, iPhones and Androids, responsive design is crucial when it comes to allowing many different users to view a website.
The Fundamental Components
In order to create a responsive web design during your web design career, there are a few different tools and processes that you can familiarize yourself with. For one, CSS (Cascading Style Sheets), the language used for describing web pages, is an integral part of responsive web design. When writing CSS, designers can adapt their website to different types of devices as CSS can control many different layouts at the same time. Within CSS are media queries, which allow the setting of different layouts, enable designers to choose what content is visible on which devices, and add size-based style changes. Responsive web design also includes responsive images and responsive typography, both of which automatically adjust their size to the size of a user’s device. Thanks to responsive web design, designers can automate the content they create to adapt to any number of different devices.
The Importance of Implementing Responsive Web Design
Anyone attending web design college knows that responsive web design technology is only increasing in importance as we move into the future. As mobile device usage continues to grow, more and more users will be viewing web traffic via mobile devices. In fact, mobile web traffic has already surpassed desktop traffic, now accounting for 51% of web traffic. Without responsive web design, mobile users wouldn’t be able to read webpage content clearly, nor navigate websites for information or services using their phones. As responsive web design improves user experience across different devices, this also means that businesses can expect higher amounts of growth and conversions, as their web pages become more accessible to larger numbers of people.
Interested in knowing more about responsive web design?
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