Responsive web design

Responsive web design (RWD) comprises a set of techniques for creating web pages which respond to a wide range of devices.

The media query is central to responsive web design.

See also Responsive web design layout.

Range of device sizes

• Desktop computer monitors
• Laptop computers
• Tablets
• Mobile phones

Ease of reading and navigation

RWD provides for easy reading and navigation with a minimum of resizing, panning, and scrolling.

Design principles

The fundamental principles of RWD are:

• Proportion-based ("fluid") CSS grids
• Proportion-based ("flexible") images
• Media queries

Fluid Grid

The fluid grid concept calls for page element sizing to be in relative units like percentages, rather than absolute units like pixels or points.

Proportion-based images

Images are sized in relative units, to prevent them from displaying outside their containing element.

Media queries

Media queries allow the page to use different CSS style rules based on characteristics of the device the site is being displayed on, most commonly the width of the browser.

Bootstrap framework

You can write your responsive web pages from scratch, but I recommend starting with a framework, such as Bootstrap.

See also

• Bootstrap (framework)
• Bootstrap responsive image
• Media queries
• Responsive web design layout
• Web browser width
• Web design
• Web usability

External links

• Responsive web design @ Wikipedia
• 9 basic principles of responsive web design @ CSS-Tricks
• HTML Responsive Web Design @ w3schools.com
• Responsive web design patterns @ google.com
• Responsive Web Design Guidelines and Tutorials by The Smashing Editorial @ smashingmagazine.com
• Responsive Web Design: What It Is and How To Use It by Kayla Knight @ smashingmagazine.com
• Photoshop Etiquette For Responsive Web Design @ smashingmagazine.com - see also Adobe Photoshop.