How Responsive Web Design Works

If you feel interested to know how Responsive Web Design works, you need to bear in mind that the key elements that go into making RWD are Fluid Layouts and Media Queries. This post will walk you through the method in which these two elements interact with each other.

Fluid Layouts affect the structural CSS of a website and controls its layout as well as how it will display on sundry devices. As for the media queries, it is related to stylization or rendering and may be conceptualized as conditional logic related to the device it is supposed to be viewed on.

Fluid Layout / Fixed width Layout

Before the advent of responsive web development, websites were based on fixed widths along with a layout proportion, as was the practice followed by print and newspaper industry where an advertisement or text could be a certain size of ‘real estate’. But websites can not be so limited for real estate while growing in length. Also, unlike a printed book or newspapresponsive_web_designer page, a website page is read or displayed according to the dimensions of the device on which it is displayed.

On account of the aforesaid reasons, the pixel based approach had to be abandoned since it did not suit websites. Also, as assorted sized devices were being introduced into the market shortly, the fixed width approach had to be discarded too. Website developers then hit upon a new idea – they started using percentage (%) to indicate proportions. As a result, when an object came as being 300 pixels wide, it became 50% of the total width of the window.

This, however, what happens when you resize the window as the elements shrinks or expands according to the dimensions accorded by the device. Nevertheless, you need to utilize another set of techniques that will optimize for smaller devices such as smartphones or iPads with sundry interfaces.

Media Queries

Even though theoretically speaking, Media Queries is a CSS3 module allowing content rendering to adapt to conditions such as screen resolution (e.g. smartphone screen vs. computer screen), in the present context it represents a set of queries that the website questions the device (or the browser) so that it can adjust to a set design to optimize itself. In short, media queries’ principal objective is to ask the device (or the browser) about the dimension, size, etc. so that it can adjust the display and performance of the site accordingly.

When interacting with Fluid Design, this becomes quite practical, especially when a proportion has been found to be too small to look perfect for the device it is viewed on. The layout obviously has to adjust (technically ‘to stack’) by way of its elements either contracting or expanding their proportions as needed.

To sum it up all, there is a wide range of things for you to achieve or customize for different media queries and so Responsive Web Design is considered as a scalable approach that gives birth to a mighty lot of creativity. Find out a renowned responsive web design company for a quality work.

Crescentek is known for its noteworthy responsive designs. This company also excels in digital marketing services. They have expert professionals to execute every assignment. People prefer it due to its fair pricing policy.