The Responsive Internet--Design As Varied As The Devices In Use

When only a few computers linked between universities constituted the Internet, the experience was very different from today. From computer engineers all the way to young children, many different kinds of people are all accessing colorful, graphic-heavy sites. Not only have the users changed, the devices have evolved, now encompassing different programming languages, browsers, and screen resolutions, from big-screen home computers to mobile devices. It is even possible to design a website that will work for all people, on all devices, all the time? The process is called "Responsive Web Design" and it is a must in today's web-heavy world.

Previously, a website was designed to work on the most common system using the most common browser. Debugging and troubleshooting after the crash became the standard method of hammering out a design that would work on other devices or browsers. The final site was usually no more than mostly functional on the less-used systems. Content wouldn't display correctly, might run off the page or not load at all. When mobile devices began opening websites on screens that could fit in the palm of the hand, the tiny text was impossible to read and what was already complicated quickly became chaos.

To find out exactly what would work an any particular system, a website needs to check the device itself, which is the basis of responsive web design. By the time the user sees the image it is already customized for their device, thus eliminating frustration. There is less need to re-size, pan or scroll to see the page, every link works every time and the content always loads without an error message in its place. By programming the images to refer to a relative grid location and a size based on the percentage of the screen it should consume, the content always re-sizes perfectly for any device.

Today's designers focus on a method referred to as "mobile first." Designing for the big screen and then trying to use "graceful degradation" to make it fit a mobile screen always resulted in lost content. It turns out that "keep it simple" is the best advice for responsive design, and the small, clean, functional mobile version can be expanded for larger screens without losing any of the original design. No matter how inexperienced the home-user may be, if someone can tap on a link with their too-large finger and make the site work, anyone with a mouse and a larger screen should have no problems.

With so much of the global experience, in commerce, education and even socialization, taking place on the Internet, web design has become the job of an artist and technician as well as a translator that speaks every tech language from basic programming through the platforms needed for mobile apps. New devices are added to the market every day and every day new users of varied skill levels line up to buy them. Without Responsive Web Design, there would be no way for all of those people and devices to communicate effectively.