Any content available on the Internet should be easily accessible from any device or platform. This is the reality right now and all businesses must realise it. Even a single potential customer now accesses content from multiple device types including desktop, laptop, mobile and tablet. So responsive web design has never been more important than right now. Your potential customers must get a uniform experience regardless of where they are. 

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Web design across devices is not as simple as many would think, mainly due to the sheer number of devices out there. Before responsive design, the same web page or advertisement looked great on one device and shabby on another. Such eventualities had to be avoided through rigorous custom design and testing. Designing a page to fit the screen sizes and resolutions of all devices was, and still is, the objective. Responsive design has made reaching that goal easier. 

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What is Responsive Design?

 

Responsive design offers users the same experience regardless of the platform and device they are using. It involves elements including flexible layouts and grid structures, along with innovative CSS queries. With responsive web design, content specifications including image sizes and resolutions are adjusted automatically. The parameters vary according to the device and platform being used. In simpler terms, a website with responsive design adapts readily to changing viewing environments. 
 
The idea of responsive web design is to give websites the ability to automatically adjust themselves. All the design elements should be easily viewable and accessible at all times. Layouts, scripts and CSS media queries are essential. But web designers also have to use their creative visualisation to perfect designs. Take a look at the information mentioned below to get a better idea about responsive web design fundamentals. 

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Fundamentals of Responsive Web Design 

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* Flexible images - Resizing images to accommodate different screen sizes is a key requirement of responsive web design. Currently, there are many popular techniques for resizing images. One of the most widely-used components of responsive design are fluid image. Using the max width property of CSS is required for generating images that adapt automatically based on device size and resolution. 
 
Setting img { max-width: 100%; } is the way to make an image ‘fluid’ or responsive. By not specifying any pixel (px) dimension limits, designers can ensure that images automatically adapt to the full width of the respective screen widths. 100% here refers to the maximum width of a device’s display. Without this property, images would load in the same size across bigger and smaller screens. Narrowing down a browser window narrows down the image width, and widening it does the opposite. Fluid images are quite crucial for any responsive website. Most modern browsers and their mobile versions work great with responsive images. 

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* Screen resolution adjustment - The process of designing any web page now includes consideration regarding how it will appear across different resolutions. But the concerns are not just related to displaying pages adapted to device resolutions and screen sizes. The adaptability of responsive web design also factors in orientation. Users who are on portable devices should get a smooth experience when they switch between portrait and landscape modes. Whilst designers can consider designing for different resolution templates, responsive design elements are the right solutions.
 
Every single element of a web page including its images, text, layout and custom styles should be adaptable. The go-to solutions along with fluid images are fluid grids. CSS code can be used for creating highly flexible layouts that readily adapt to size and orientation changes. The logo of a website, it's text columns, images etc, can be made to adapt relative to each other. Responsive design can adjust resolutions for the majority of Android, iOS, Windows and macOS devices. 

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* Creating custom layouts - Some web pages are viewed by visitors who possess screen sizes from the smallest to the largest. To achieve the required level of design precision across device sizes, designers can utilise a few approaches. One method involves the use of independent style sheets, whilst another deals with creating CSS media queries. New sheets might retain most style elements, with a few required attribute changes. These alterations are made to ensure that page contents are displayed presentably. 

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Custom layouts are quite necessary for screen sizes which are too wide or too narrow. Sectioning content fluidly, adding borders and margins, and adding device type-specific code makes a world of difference. CSS3 media queries are useful for the most current set of mobile devices. However, some older devices might not support CSS3 elements. For such cases, creating multiple stylesheet versions is the best way forward. Some properties that need tweaking may include - min-width, max-width, orientation, min-device-width and max-device-width.

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* Hiding and removing content - The entire experience of consuming content on a large desktop screen is quite different from a small mobile display. Users on a mobile platform usually need access to the most fundamental features of a website. So, in many cases, the objective of responsive web design is to make key features stand out. At the same time, some elements (or features) that mobile users do not need can simply be hidden away. Doing so ensures a seamless experience on portable platforms. 
 
Any web designer must consult with business owners to clarify the most important features of a portable site. This is essential before the start of any responsive design process. Any section that is deemed as unnecessary on mobile can be taken away with the ‘display: none’ property. If it is to be simply hidden away, one can use the ‘visibility:hidden’ property. If your mobile web page offers some features that the desktop version will not, these same properties can be used for the desktop style sheet. Designers must understand that mobile designs have to be made for touch-screen functionality. 

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The significance of responsive web design cannot be understated. If you are a business owner with a sizeable mobile-platform audience get in touch with a credible responsive web design service agency.

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