10 Basic Principles of Responsive Web Design

Introduction

• Presenter: Jesse Showalter
• Topic: Ten basic principles of responsive web design
• Purpose: To provide foundational knowledge for designing responsive websites

Principle 1: Responsive vs. Adaptive Design

• Responsive Web Design: Content fluidly adjusts with screen size changes
• Adaptive Web Design: Content adapts at specific breakpoints
• No right or wrong choice; depends on project requirements

Principle 2: The Flow

• HTML documents follow a natural flow of elements
• Vertical space increases as screen size decreases
• Important to consider for smaller screen designs

Principle 3: Relative Units of Measurement

• Move away from absolute units (pixels, millimeters)
• Use relative units like percentages, viewport width (vw), viewport height (vh), em, rem
• Easier to create responsive layouts
• Resources for relative units provided in the description

Principle 4: Breakpoints

• Predefined areas to rearrange layout based on screen size
• Example: 12-column layout can shift to a 6-3-1 column layout
• Crucial for maintaining layout integrity across devices

Principle 5: Maximum and Minimum Values

• Control content stretching with max-width and min-width
• Avoid excessively wide text measures for readability

Principle 6: Containers or Nested Objects

• Group related content (e.g., headline, body, image) inside a div
• Control the div rather than individual elements
• Example: blog posts grouped in a div

Principle 7: Mobile or Desktop First

• Ongoing debate; no right or wrong answer
• Mobile First: Simplified one-column approach
• Desktop First: Start with full desktop experience
• Jesse's preference: desktop first

Principle 8: Web Fonts vs. System Fonts

• Web Fonts: Trendy and customizable, but increase load times
• System Fonts: Faster load times, default fallback if not available
• Balance is key between performance and aesthetics

Principle 9: Bitmap vs. Vector Images

• Bitmap Images: Fixed details, can become fuzzy when enlarged
• Vector Images: Scalable and clean, best for logos/icons
• Use bitmaps for detailed images, vectors for simpler graphics

Principle 10: Make It Until You Break It

• Coined by Brad Frost
• Aim to make layouts work across as many devices as possible without intervention
• Use breakpoints or media queries as necessary when layouts break

Conclusion

• Recap of 10 foundational principles
• Encouragement to subscribe and interact with the content
• Check the description for additional resources
• Closing remarks: Have an amazing week designing and building responsive websites!