Responsive Web design is the approach that suggests that design and development should respond to the user’s behavior and environment based on screen size, platform and orientation. The practice consists of a mix of flexible grids and layouts, images and an intelligent use of CSS media queries. As the user switches from their laptop to iPad, the website should automatically switch to accommodate for resolution, image size and scripting abilities. In other words, the website should have the technology to automatically respond to the user’s preferences. This would eliminate the need for a different design and development phase for each new gadget on the market.

But responsive Web design is not only about adjustable screen resolutions and automatically resizable images, but rather about a whole new way of thinking about design. Let’s talk about all of these features, plus additional ideas in the making.

Progressive enhancement is a strategy that emphasizes accessibility relational to the user’s device. The aim is to allow everyone access to basic content and functionality of a website, starting with the smallest of devices and then gradually enhancing the experience as you move up to larger devices that have more advanced capabilities.

Responsive Web Design has developed over the past few years to become a device agnostic approach to delivering content to users. From a mobile browser on an iPhone all the way up to a HDTV, responsive websites are able to adjust their appearance based on screen dimensions. We can no longer design for a desktop screen with the number of devices and different screen sizes that are available today; and also those that will come tomorrow.