Definition of Responsive Web Design

Years ago, when technology was what it was, one only had to worry that the visual things he did (images, games, application interfaces, ...) looked good on a screen that could be around 14 inches from a monitor from computer. But the evolution It has been unstoppable, and we currently have a multitude of devices and formats.

This has meant that a user interface or any other content no longer has to deal with different image sizes, if not with devices that are used differently, and aspect ratios that differ notably.

The web, an advance that emerged in the 90s and that, since then, has become essential, has also undergone these changes in the platform scenario from which can be used, and the entities that manage web standards have had to choose ingenious solutions to make life easier for interface developers Web.

A responsive web page (also called responsive, adoption of the original English word) is one whose interface is automatically resized and its Graphic elements are repositioned for easy viewing at any screen size and aspect ratio. appearance.

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Let's think about the diversity screen formats ranging from a smartphone with a 5 ”screen and 18: 9 ratio that can be read vertically to a 16: 9 40” television, leaving a computer or tablet in between.

Until steps were taken to make the interface graph of the web pages will automatically adapt to the screen on which it was being viewed, the "Solution" consisted of anticipating all possible formats, and serving different pages as appropriate. The problem was those unforeseen formats and those that technological evolution provided naturally.

The tools to achieve a responsive design, which would adapt to the screen format in which the image was being viewed. website regardless of what this format and screen size were, were set by the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium).

And the introduction of this technology was possible thanks to the separation of the content of the pages from what was the presentation of said contents and the look & feel page by using CSS style definition files.

These allow you to modify the appearance of an entire website (understood as a set of pages) without having to touch the code source of all HTML files, since it differs what are the definitions of the style and the presentation (contained in the file CSS) of the contents (found in HTML files).

The elements of responsive design have been discussed and introduced in the web standards by the W3C since the end of the first decade of the 21st century.

It is from launch of the first iPhone, in 2006, in which the race was unleashed to adjust websites so that can be seen perfectly both on desktop browsers and large screens, as well as on devices mobiles.

Fotolia photos: Alexey Shkitenkov / Bobb Klissourski