Responsive Web Design: The Hidden Hero

It’s 2019 and we are well into the digital age. What does that mean for organizations with an online presence? It means that consumers are accessing your website through a variety of devices. With hundreds of options for screen size and resolution, it’s hard to know what your website will consistently look like and how your features will adjust accordingly. The solution? Responsive web design.

What is it?

Responsive web design (RWD) is an approach that aims to deliver a consistent user experience across viewing experiences. RWD allows for the adjustment of design, layout and visual elements according to the user’s viewing environment, whether it be a mobile device, touchscreen tablet or laptop. Rather than having to create custom layouts for each screen size, RWD allows designers the ability to take a more streamlined approach to design by crafting adjustable layouts that respond automatically, resulting in stronger UX/UI in the end. RWD represents an efficient, streamlined approach to design that delivers better UX/UI in the end. 

Why use it?

In the current digital environment, users are entering web pages from a variety of devices. According to Statista, mobile devices account for 43.47% of all website traffic. As a result, it’s become increasingly important for organizations to ensure their digital presence is up-to-date and cohesive across devices. 

Responsive web design is also heavily impacted by ADA compliance.RWD ensures that elements that help those with disabilities access websites such as scroll bars, zoom in/out, contrast level, and content hierarchy are still working on different devices. 

How does it work?

Responsive web design automatically adjusts page elements depending on the screen size.

What makes up a responsive website?

• There are three functions that allow designers to optimize their designs to look good and perform correctly across different devices. 
  • Media queries
    • A feature of CSS that enables web page content to adapt to different screen sizes and resolutions.
  • Fluid grids
    • This feature allows content to automatically adjust itself to fit the size of the screen or browser window. It supports the reflow of content and ensures that the content is presented in the correct order when rearranged.
  • Flexible visuals
    • Flexible visuals allow visual elements like images and video to automatically resize depending on the screen size. It also ensures that images don’t overlap other page elements such as text or intended white space.
      
      

How we test responsive web design:

Here at Pyxl, we know that RWD matters. Before a website goes live, we test launch it at our “Quality Assurance (QA) bar.” This is a space that includes a variety of devices running on a variety of browsers. For example, we have everything from ancient iPhone models to the new Surface Pro. We know that each user persona has their favorite devices and browsers and we want to ensure that your website is ready to reach all of these.

Is your website responding how it should? Let us help! CONTACT US

Updated: Nov 15, 2024