Responsive Web Design Tutorial

History and Introduction :
When the Internet began in the early 1990s, it was a desktop-only version. Soon automation and research put the experts to make mobile friendly solutions but it became more complex with mobile sites and WAP introduction.

WAP(Wireless Application Protocol) browsers had some early success but with modern browsers having full compatibility took over the WWW(Worldwide Web) by storm as smartphones browsing became progressive.

Now they support HTML5 and CSS3 for amazing user experience via the Internet. Soon there was a new design approach that everyone got so much accustomed to that now almost every site is based on ‘Responsive Web Design’.

There were new rules and practices to follow to understand but now it is common all over the industry to begin their website design with responsive capability.

What is Responsive Web Design[Key Features]
Responsive Media Queries
Responsive CSS Frameworks
Step by Step Responsive Web Design Tutorials

What is Responsive Web Design?

Responsive Web Design (RWD) is defined as the nature of the website to look authentic in all modern devices i.e. (Desktop, Laptops, Tablets, Smartphones, iPhones, etc). So the size of the device doesn’t change the outlook of the website at all. Mobile users can have the same experience as desktop users. Using HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript in some manner(if required at all); a web developer can create a systematic look for a modern website that displays true for its content, design, performance and overall satisfaction to the user behavior.

Key features of Responsive Web Design

• Multi-Device Compatibility; Desktops, PC, Tablets & Smartphones
• Superior User Experience
• Comprehensive Part of Google SEO friendly recommendations
• Affordable Costing with low efforts
• More Audience more business leads and conversions
• Modern Browsers Support
• No multiple redirects with low maintenance
• Futuristic Approach which assures stability and scalability

CSS3 Media Queries

CSS3 Media Queries were the core foundation of the Responsive Web Design nature of current web standards. These modules accepted in 2012 have transformed how we approach multiple device web design.
Important rules and points that are related to Media queries

• Orientation i.e. Portrait and Landscape
• Media Types i.e. all, Print, Screen and Speech
• Media Features like on-hover, ratio, color, height, width, grid, light, etc
• Modern Browser media version support at Firefox(3.5+), Chrome(21+), Internet Explorer(9+), Opera(9+), Safari(4+)
• ‘Mobile First design’ is recommended for ease of work and understanding.
• There are usual breakpoints that match according to devices
• There are a few elements that you can hide or change completely on different devices e.g. mobile dropdown menus gets hidden on large screens etc.
• You can add variable font size with media queries with ease of device visuals.

Responsive CSS Frameworks

Writing a responsive framework for every design is hard and with complex designs, it might throw more systematic errors. As the need for responsive website improved CSS frameworks became the norm in web development. There are many Frameworks that are used as a foundation to begin new projects. Bootstrap currently stands as one of the most used responsive frameworks in the world.

Read our Special guidance on Bootstrap 3 Tutorials now!

Responsive Images and Videos

Images and Videos are an important part of websites so they when a device changes their screen size these must also become responsive. By using specific CSS values we can make them responsive and get the desired behavior.

Responsive Grids

To make websites grids have become quite popular in recent times for their symmetrical representation. There can be predefined based on their use and respective CSS is written to match the layout accordingly.

Responsive Web Design Examples

Here we have gathered a few of the sample responsive web design examples with specific CSS code that can be used to build responsive websites accordingly.

Step by Step Responsive Web Design Tutorial

Here at Tutorialmines, we will study Step by Step complete Responsive Web Design Tutorials for beginners.

• What is Responsive Web Designing
• Responsive Viewport Meta
• Responsive Media Queries
• Responsive Grid Tutorial
• Responsive Images and Videos
• RWD framework comparison
• Responsive Web Design Examples
• Responsive Web Design Template

Responsive Web Design: Best Practices

Here are the top 15 best practices that you can add in web designing to keep the responsive web design immaculate.

• Menus: For a smaller screen, it is recommended that you hid menus and give a simple icon to replace the structure. Once the user clicks on it the menu comes on the screen.
• Swappable menus and other items: On smaller screens, we generally swipe to get more information. So you can add extra elements such as menu in swiping expression. For instance, a small part of the main item is hidden giving users the idea of hidden content. They can just swipe or click on that button or icon to reveal the matter.
• For smaller screens, you need to make a button and links size large for getting them easy to click. As such these anchor elements, pagination or call-to-action buttons will get mis-clicked for wrong information. So make sure you give them the right size and notation for users to identify and navigate them accordingly.
• Font Weight and Sizes: Although Mobile screens are comparatively smaller than the desktop and PC’s still there has to be some balance between font-weight to give clear vision to the viewers.
• Keeping reading width on the middle screen with a balance gives users the right rhythm rather than follow long lines or keeping things short.
• Try to position important items on top left, right or center of the screen. As users are more prone to check that out and get more clicks on the highlighted section.
• Make Scrollable Items: As one makes changes from desktop to mobile several changes are bound to happen for every design.
• More often we see mobile content is more precise and informative rather than the full lengthy description on the desktop pages. Vice-versa large screen wider screens will often carry more content than smaller mobile.
• Tablet designs often require more modifications than other simple designs.
• Touch screen gestures need to be installed properly for the user to control their screen efficiently.
• Try to use more CSS and avoid images for simple color-based backgrounds
• Always use Responsive elements wherever possible such as images, videos, etc to keep all users in the loop.
• Remember the Orientation and assign proper spacing in between blocks to not disrupt viewers in any case.
• Always use percentage for controlling the CSS elements precisely.
• Keep a strong check on the small screen viewers by testing them on an online platform as these RWD attributes can have a strong effect from search engines.

Future of Responsive Web Designing

All new modern websites and applications follow this sophisticated web design approach. RWD is one of the technology approaches that are here to stay. There might some new creativity, innovations, and ideas that might alter how we achieve this scenario but the responsive nature of the web development looks secure.

Responsive Web Design is the present and future of the internet today. With smartphones numbers now more than desktop and PC’s web developers must use sleek mobile website designs in today’s age. Although today’s generation works directly with responsive templates and frameworks from the beginning, still you must understand the whole concept to solve any imperfections smoothly.

Also, Check out Responsive Web Design Interview Questions and Answers