A fact: the times when websites were only developed for PCs and laptops are long gone. If you want to make a functional and successful appearance on the Internet, you will not stand a chance without responsive web design (RWD). Here is a short overview about this important topic.
Responsive web design: “Be water, my friend!”
The connection between this advice from the legendary Kung Fu master Bruce Lee and responsive web design becomes quite obvious if you look more closely at the flexible layout of a website. Bruce Lee described his style of fighting with the following words:
“Empty your mind, be formless. Shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle and it becomes the bottle. You put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now, water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.”
This might seem a bit far-fetched, but it fits perfectly to describe a website with responsive web design. The goal is to create a website which is just as user-friendly and well-presented on a PC as it is on a smartphone, a tablet or a notebook computer. Companies that still rely on a static, inflexible website will definitely surrender to the demands of today’s mobility movement. Especially those companies, who rely on selling their goods or services on the internet. Great and truly well-designed websites perfectly represent the power of RWD.
And how exactly does RWD work?
For those seeking the exact way on how to program a website with responsive web design, the internet offers a great choice of very informative articles. To describe each and every step at this point, would dismantle the frame of this short article into a million pieces – Bruce Lee style! As an example on how to program a website with RDW, the “creative blog” introduces 16 useful tutorials for responsive web design. To give you a rough idea about RWD:
The reactive web design uses programming languages like HTML5 and CSS3 to present unified appearances and usability on any given device. No matter if this is your PC or your smartphone. The layout of the website is programmed in a flexible way, which allows the user to use all the functions and features of the site. This might not sound like much, but considering the different screen sizes (for example the flat screen of your PC and the tiny one on your Apple Watch) in addition to the altered ways of navigating through the site (mouse or touch screen), the importance of responsive web design becomes very clear. In short: RWD follows the user!
In times of mobility!
There still might be some companies which are sceptical towards anything new. Just think about all the discussions around cloud computing! But when it comes to RWD – which has been around since more than 5 years – things are different. Who still sees RDW as a trend, has lost sight of reality. The IDC gives out quarterly statistics on how many mobile devices, PCs and notebooks are being sold worldwide – these figures speak for themselves and definitely for responsive web design!
