Responsive web design (RWD) is a web development strategy that makes dynamic changes to the look of a website based on the display size and orientation of the platform. RWD is one solution to the challenge of developing for the wide variety of devices accessible to clients. This ranges from little phones to large desktop displays, and it is becoming more popular.
Breakpoints
Responsive web design uses breakpoints to specify how the layout of a website appears. Breakpoint uses one theme, while another design occurs below that breakpoint. The breadth of the window determines the breakpoints.
All devices use the same HTML, with CSS (which governs the layout of the site) customizing the look of the page on each device. Instead of establishing a separate site and associated codebase for wide-screen displays, workstations, laptops, iPads, and smartphones of various sizes, a single codebase can serve users with a variety of different-sized viewports, saving time and money.
Viewport
When the viewport expands or shrinks, the page components reorganize to accommodate the new size of the viewport. In the case of tablets, a three-column desktop arrangement reduces to two sections. In the case of smartphones to one column. When it comes to rearranging information and design components, the responsive design depends on proportion-based grids. However, while responsive design developed as a means of providing better access to information irrespective of the device, it is also possible to block certain items on smaller screens. For example, background images or additional navigation. Take users and their requirements into consideration when making decisions about concealing information and functionality.
Codebase
RWD has the potential to be more advantageous than designing separate sites for various kinds of devices. When opposed to constructing three or four unique sites, the usage of a single codebase may expedite the development and make maintenance simpler over time. Indeed, just one collection of code and material needs updating rather than three or four different sets.
Consider RWD “future-proof”, in the sense that it can accommodate any additional breakpoints required in the future. If a 5-inch device or a 15-inch device becomes common in the market, the new device accommodates the software on the new devices. A responsive web design approach does not bind design to a certain device.
In order for items to be able to scale and rearrange, it is frequently simpler to develop a responsive web design on a site that is more concerned with content than with operations. While maintaining clarity and usefulness, it may be difficult to fit complex information or interactions into modular components that can be easily shuffled about a page while maintaining clarity and performance.