Responsive web design

"Responsive design" redirects here. For the computer-aided design approach, see Responsive computer-aided design.

Not to be confused with Responsiveness.

Short description: Approach to web design for making web pages render well on a variety of devices

A screenshot of Wikipedia with the responsive skin Vector 2022, on a computer screen (left) and on a mobile phone screen (right). The elements rearrange themselves into a more mobile friendly layout.

Content is like water, a saying that illustrates the principles of RWD Cascading Style Sheets

* Style sheet
* CSS Zen Garden
* The Zen of CSS Design

Concepts

* box model
* image replacement
* flexbox
* grid

Philosophies

* Tableless
* Responsive
* "Holy grail"

Tools

* Sass
* Less
* Stylus
* CSSTidy

Comparisons

* CSS support
* Stylesheet languages

* Cascading Style Sheets

* v
* t
* e

Responsive web design (RWD) or responsive design is an approach to web design that aims to make web pages render well on a variety of devices and window or screen sizes from minimum to maximum display size to ensure usability and satisfaction.[1][2]

A responsive design adapts the web-page layout to the viewing environment[1] by using techniques such as fluid proportion-based grids,[3][4] flexible images,[5][6] and CSS3 media queries,[7][8][9] an extension of the `@media` rule,[10] in the following ways:

* The fluid grid concept calls for page element sizing to be in relative units like percentages, rather than absolute units like pixels or points.[4]
* Flexible images are also sized in relative units, so as to prevent them from displaying outside their containing element.[5]
* Media queries allow the page to use different CSS style rules based on characteristics of the device the site is being displayed on, e.g. width of the rendering surface (browser window width or physical display size).
* Responsive layouts automatically adjust and adapt to any device screen size, whether it is a desktop, a laptop, a tablet, or a mobile phone.

Responsive web design became more important as users of mobile devices came to account for the majority of website visitors.[11][12] In 2015, for instance, Google announced Mobilegeddon and started to boost the page ranking of mobile-friendly sites when searching from a mobile device.[13] As mobile usage grew, optimization practices such as improved load speed, touch-friendly navigation, and mobile-focused SEO became essential for ensuring usability and maintaining search visibility.[14]

Responsive web design is an example of user interface plasticity.[15]

## Contents

* 1 Challenges, and other approaches
* 2 History
* 3 Related concepts
* 4 See also
* 5 References

## Challenges, and other approaches

Luke Wroblewski has summarized some of the responsive and mobile design challenges and created a catalog of multi-device layout patterns.[16][17][18] He suggested that, compared with a simple responsive web design approach, device experience or RESS (responsive web design with server-side components) approaches can provide a user experience that is better optimized for mobile devices.[19][20][21] Server-side CSS generator implementation of stylesheet languages like Sass can be part of such an approach. Google has recommended responsive design for smartphone websites over other approaches.[22]

Although many publishers have implemented responsive designs, one challenge for responsive design adoption was that some banner advertisements and videos were not fluid.[23] However, search advertising and (banner) display advertising came to support specific device platform targeting and different advertisement size formats for desktop, smartphone, and basic mobile devices. Different landing page URLs have been used for different platforms,[24] or Ajax has been used to display different advertisement variants on a page.[25][17][26] CSS tables permitted hybrid fixed and fluid layouts.[27]

There have been many ways of validating and testing responsive web designs,[28] ranging from mobile site validators and mobile emulators to simultaneous testing tools like Adobe Edge Inspect.[29] The Chrome, Firefox and Safari browsers and developer tools have offered responsive design viewport resizing tools, as do third parties.[30][31]

## History

The W3C specification of HTML+ stated that websites have to be rendered according to the user preferences.[32] The customization of web page layout was lacking however. Many web developers resorted to ordinary HTML tables as a way to customize the layout and bring some basic responsiveness to their websites at the same time.

First major site to feature a layout that adapts in a non-trivial manner to browser viewport width was Audi.com launched in late 2001,[33] created by a team at Razorfish consisting of Jürgen Spangl and Jim Kalbach (information architecture), Ken Olling (design), and Jan Hoffmann (interface development). Limited browser capabilities meant that for Internet Explorer, the layout could adapt dynamically in the browser whereas, for Netscape, the page had to be reloaded from the server when resized.

Cameron Adams created a demonstration in 2004.[34] By 2008, a number of related terms such as "flexible", "liquid",[35] "fluid", and "elastic" were being used to describe layouts. CSS3 media queries were almost ready for prime time in late 2008/early 2009.[36] Ethan Marcotte coined the term responsive web design[37]—and defined it to mean fluid grid / flexible images / media queries—in a May 2010 article in A List Apart.[1] He described the theory and practice of responsive web design in his brief 2011 book titled Responsive Web Design. Responsive design was listed as #2 in Top Web Design Trends for 2012 by .net magazine after progressive enhancement at #1.[38]

Mashable called 2013 the Year of Responsive Web Design.[39]

## Related concepts

See also: Unobtrusive JavaScript and Progressive enhancement

Mobile-first design and progressive enhancement are related concepts that predate responsive web design.[40] Browsers of basic mobile phones do not understand JavaScript or media queries, so a recommended practice was to create a basic web site and enhance it for smartphones and personal computers, rather than rely on graceful degradation to make a complex, image-heavy site work on mobile phones.[41][42][43][44]

User interface plasticity is the capacity of a user interface to withstand variations of both the system's physical characteristics and the environment while preserving usability.[45]

## See also

* Adaptive web design
* Bootstrap (front-end framework)
* CSS framework
* Em (typography) § CSS
* Foundation (framework)
* Tableless web design
* T Layout

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Marcotte, Ethan (May 25, 2010). "Responsive Web design". A List Apart. http://www.alistapart.com/articles/responsive-web-design/.
2. ↑ Schade, Amy (2014-05-04). "Responsive Web Design (RWD) and User Experience". https://www.nngroup.com/articles/responsive-web-design-definition/.
3. ↑ "Core concepts of Responsive Web design". September 8, 2014. http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/hh653584.aspx.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Marcotte, Ethan (March 3, 2009). "Fluid Grids". A List Apart. http://www.alistapart.com/articles/fluidgrids/.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Marcotte, Ethan (June 7, 2011). "Fluid images". A List Apart. http://www.alistapart.com/articles/fluid-images/.
6. ↑ Hannemann, Anselm (September 7, 2012). "The road to responsive images". net Magazine. http://www.creativebloq.com/html5/road-responsive-images-9126108.
7. ↑ Gillenwater, Zoe Mickley (December 15, 2010). Examples of flexible layouts with CSS3 media queries. Stunning CSS3. pp. 320. ISBN 978-0-321-722133. http://zomigi.com/blog/examples-of-flexible-layouts-with-css3-media-queries/.
8. ↑ Gillenwater, Zoe Mickley (October 21, 2011). "Crafting quality media queries". http://zomigi.com/blog/essential-considerations-for-crafting-quality-media-queries/.
9. ↑ "Responsive design—harnessing the power of media queries". Google Webmaster Central. April 30, 2012. http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.jp/2012/04/responsive-design-harnessing-power-of.html.
10. ↑ "@media rule". W3C. https://www.w3.org/TR/CSS2/media.html#at-media-rule.
11. ↑ "Cisco Visual Networking Index: Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast Update 2014–2019 White Paper". Cisco. January 30, 2015. http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/solutions/collateral/service-provider/visual-networking-index-vni/white_paper_c11-520862.html.
12. ↑ "Mobile share of U.S. organic search engine visits 2021". Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/297137/mobile-share-of-us-organic-search-engine-visits/.
13. ↑ "Official Google Webmaster Central Blog: Rolling out the mobile-friendly update". Official Google Webmaster Central Blog. http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2015/04/rolling-out-mobile-friendly-update.html.
14. ↑ Ansary, Ayub (August 18, 2024). "How to Optimize Your Website for Mobile". https://ayubansary.com/blog/how-to-optimize-your-website-for-mobile/.
15. ↑ Thevenin, D.; Coutaz, J. (2002). "Plasticity of User Interfaces: Framework and Research Agenda". Edinburgh. pp. 110–117.
16. ↑ Wroblewski, Luke (May 17, 2011). "Mobilism: jQuery Mobile". http://www.lukew.com/ff/entry.asp?1330.
17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Wroblewski, Luke (February 6, 2012). "Rolling Up Our Responsive Sleeves". http://www.lukew.com/ff/entry.asp?1494.
18. ↑ Wroblewski, Luke (March 14, 2012). "Multi-Device Layout Patterns". http://www.lukew.com/ff/entry.asp?1514.
19. ↑ Wroblewski, Luke (February 29, 2012). "Responsive Design ... or RESS". http://www.lukew.com/ff/entry.asp?1509.
20. ↑ Wroblewski, Luke (September 12, 2011). "RESS: Responsive Design + Server Side Components". http://www.lukew.com/ff/entry.asp?1392.
21. ↑ Andersen, Anders M (May 8, 2012). "Getting Started with RESS". http://www.netmagazine.com/tutorials/getting-started-ress.
22. ↑ "Building Smartphone-Optimized Websites". https://developers.google.com/webmasters/smartphone-sites/.
23. ↑ Snyder, Matthew; Koren, Etai (April 30, 2012). "The state of responsive advertising: the publishers' perspective". .net Magazine. http://www.creativebloq.com/netmag/state-responsive-advertising-publishers-perspective-4126330.
24. ↑ "Google Partners Help". google.com. https://support.google.com/adwords/certification/bin/static.py?hl=en&page=guide.cs&guide=23292.
25. ↑ "Server-Side Device Detection: History, Benefits And How-To". Smashing magazine. September 24, 2012. http://mobile.smashingmagazine.com/2012/09/24/server-side-device-detection-history-benefits-how-to/.
26. ↑ JavaScript and Responsive Web Design Google Developers
27. ↑ "The Role of Table Layouts in Responsive Web Design". Web Design Tuts+. January 23, 2013. http://webdesign.tutsplus.com/tutorials/the-role-of-table-layouts-in-responsive-web-design--webdesign-10294.
28. ↑ Young, James (August 13, 2012). "Top responsive web design problems... testing". .net Magazine. http://www.netmagazine.com/features/top-responsive-web-design-problems-and-how-avoid-them#8.
29. ↑ Rinaldi, Brian (September 26, 2012). "Browser testing... with Adobe Edge Inspect". http://www.adobe.com/devnet/edge-inspect/articles/browser-testing-across-devices-with-adobe-edge-inspect.html.
30. ↑ "Responsive Design View". Mozilla Developer Network. https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Tools/Responsive_Design_View.
31. ↑ Malte Wassermann. "Responsive design testing tool – Viewport Resizer – Emulate various screen resolutions - Best developer device testing toolbar". maltewassermann.com. http://lab.maltewassermann.com/viewport-resizer/.
32. ↑ "An Overview of HTML+". W3C. https://www.w3.org/MarkUp/HTMLPlus/htmlplus_7.html.
33. ↑ Kalbach, Jim (July 22, 2012). "The First Responsive Design Website: Audi (circa 2002)." [self-published source?]
34. ↑ Adams, Cameron (September 21, 2004). "Resolution dependent layout: Varying layout according to browser width". http://www.themaninblue.com/writing/perspective/2004/09/21/.
35. ↑ "G146: Using liquid layout". w3.org. http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20-TECHS/G146.html.
36. ↑ "Media Queries". w3.org. http://www.w3.org/TR/2009/CR-css3-mediaqueries-20090423/.
37. ↑ "OutSeller Group - Organize, Optimize, Maximize". outseller.net. http://outseller.net/2015s-professional-responsive-web-design-offer-businesses/.
38. ↑ Grannell, Craig (January 9, 2012). "15 top web design and development trends for 2012". .net Magazine. https://www.netmagazine.com/features/15-top-web-design-and-development-trends-2012.
39. ↑ Cashmore, Pete (December 11, 2012). "Why 2013 Is the Year of Responsive Web Design". http://mashable.com/2012/12/11/responsive-web-design/.
40. ↑ "What is Responsive Web Design". July 23, 2012. http://www.webhostdesignpost.com/webdesign/whatisresponsivewebdesign.html.
41. ↑ Wroblewski, Luke (November 3, 2009). "Mobile First". http://www.lukew.com/ff/entry.asp?933.
42. ↑ Firtman, Maximiliano (July 30, 2011). Programming the Mobile Web. O'Reilly Media. pp. 512. ISBN 978-0-596-80778-8. https://archive.org/details/programmingmobil0000firt/page/512.
43. ↑ "Graceful degradation versus progressive enhancement". February 3, 2009. http://docs.webplatform.org/wiki/tutorials/graceful_degradation_versus_progressive_enhancement.
44. ↑ Parker, Todd; Wachs, Maggie Costello; Jehl, Scott (February 2010). Designing with Progressive Enhancement. New Riders. pp. 456. ISBN 978-0-321-65888-3. http://filamentgroup.com/dwpe/. Retrieved March 1, 2010.
45. ↑ Thevenin, D.; Coutaz, J. (2002). "Plasticity of User Interfaces: Framework and Research Agenda". Edinburgh. pp. 110–117.

* v
* t
* e

Design

* Outline
* Designer

Disciplines

| Communication
design|

* Advertising
* Book design
* Corporate design
* Exhibit design
* Film title design
* Graphic design
* Motion
* Postage stamp design
* Print design
* Illustration
* Information design
* Instructional design
* News design
* Photography
* Retail design
* Signage / Traffic sign design
* Typography / Type design
* Video design
* Visual merchandising

|

Environmental
design|

* Architecture
* Architectural lighting design
* Building design
* Passive solar
* Ecological design
* Environmental impact design
* Garden design
* Computer-aided
* Healthy community design
* Hotel design
* Interior architecture
* Interior design
* EID
* Keyline design
* Landscape architecture
* Sustainable
* Landscape design
* Spatial design
* Urban design

Industrial
design|

* Automotive design
* Automotive suspension design
* CMF design
* Corrugated box design
* Electric guitar design
* Furniture design
* Sustainable
* Hardware interface design
* Motorcycle design
* Packaging and labeling
* Photographic lens design
* Product design
* Production design
* Sensory design
* Service design

Interaction
design|

* Experience design
* EED
* Game design
* Level design
* Video game design
* Hardware interface design
* Icon design
* Immersive design
* Information design
* Sonic interaction design
* User experience design
* User interface design
* Web design

Other
applied arts|

* Public art design
* Ceramic / glass design
* Fashion design
* Costume design
* Jewelry design
* Floral design
* Game art design
* Property design
* Scenic design
* Sound design
* Stage/set lighting design
* Textile design

Other
design
& engineering|

* Algorithm design
* Behavioural design
* Boiler design
* Database design
* Drug design
* Electrical system design
* Experimental design
* Filter design
* Geometric design
* Job design
* Integrated circuit design
* Circuit design
* Physical design
* Power network design
* Mechanism design
* Nuclear weapon design
* Nucleic acid design
* Organization design
* Process design
* Processor design
* Protein design
* Research design
* Social design
* Software design
* Spacecraft design
* Strategic design
* Systems design

Approaches

* Activity-centered
* Adaptive web
* Affective
* Brainstorming
* By committee
* By contract
* C-K theory
* Closure
* Co-design
* Concept-oriented
* Configuration
* Contextual
* Continuous
* Cradle-to-cradle
* Creative problem-solving
* Creativity techniques
* Critical
* Design fiction
* Defensive
* Design–bid–build
* Design–build
* architect-led
* Domain-driven
* Ecodesign
* Energy neutral
* Engineering design process
* Probabilistic design
* Error-tolerant
* Fault-tolerant
* Framework-oriented
* For assembly
* For behaviour change
* For manufacturability
* For Six Sigma
* For testing
* For X
* Functional
* Generative
* Geodesign
* HCD
* High-level
* Inclusive
* Integrated
* Integrated topside
* Intelligence-based
* Iterative
* KISS principle
* Low-level
* Metadesign
* Mind mapping
* Modular
* New Wave
* Object-oriented
* Open
* Parametric
* Participatory
* Platform-based
* Policy-based
* Process-centered
* Public interest
* Rational
* Regenerative
* Reliability engineering
* Research-based
* Responsibility-driven
* RWD
* Safe-life
* Sustainable
* Systemic
* SOD
* Tableless web
* Theory of constraints
* Top-down and bottom-up
* Transformation
* Transgenerational
* TRIZ
* Universal
* Design for All
* Usage-centered
* Use-centered
* User-centered
* Empathic
* User innovation
* Value-driven
* Value sensitive
* Privacy by

* Design choice
* computing
* controls
* flow
* leadership
* management
* marker
* methods
* pattern
* research
* science
* sprint
* strategy
* theory
* thinking

* Tools
* Intellectual property
* Organizations
* Awards

| Tools|

* AAD
* Architectural model
* Blueprint
* Comprehensive layout
* CAD
* CAID
* Virtual home design software
* CAutoD
* Design quality indicator
* Electronic design automation
* Flowchart
* Mockup
* Product design specification
* Prototype
* Sketch
* Storyboard
* Technical drawing
* Web design program
* Website wireframe

|

Intellectual
property|

* Community design
* Design around
* Design patent
* Fashion design copyright
* Geschmacksmuster
* Industrial design rights
* European Union

Organizations|

* AIGA
* Chartered Society of Designers
* Design and Industries Association
* Design Council
* International Forum Design
* The Design Society
* Design Research Society

Awards|

* European Design Award
* German Design Award
* Good Design Award (Museum of Modern Art)
* Good Design Award (Chicago Athenaeum)
* Good Design Award (Japan)
* Graphex
* IF product design award
* James Dyson Award
* Prince Philip Designers Prize
* Prix Versailles

Related topics

* Aesthetics
* Agile
* Concept art
* Conceptual design
* Creative industries
* Cultural icon
* .design
* Enterprise architecture
* Futures studies
* Indie design
* Innovation Management
* Intelligent design
* Lean Startup
* New product development
* OODA Loop
* Philosophy of design
* Process simulation
* Slow design
* STEAM fields
* Unintelligent design
* Visualization
* Wicked problem

* Design brief
* change
* classic
* competition
* architectural
* student
* director
* education
* elements and principles
* engineer
* firm
* history
* knowledge
* language
* life
* load
* museum
* paradigm
* rationale
* review
* specification
* studio
* technology

* Commons
* Wikibooks
* Wikinews
* Wikiquote
* Wikisource
* Wiktionary

0.00

(0 votes)

Original source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Responsive web design. Read more

|

Retrieved from "https://handwiki.org/wiki/index.php?title=Responsive_web_design&oldid=4226297"
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template