Designers and tech experts may frequently use terms like responsive, liquid, or fixed design. “What does this all mean? And why will it cost me more money?” You might be asking yourself these questions. Responsive design is a design option that allows for a simple viewing experience for users. Let’s first clarify these terms:
Fixed design
Fixed web pages are fixed in width and will not change if the browser is resized. Smaller devices such as tablets and smartphones can make content difficult to view. Users may have to scroll horizontally in order to see the rest of the page or ”pinch’ and expand to zoom in on the text. Images and text can visually break down on screens when the browser is reduced or enlarged.
Liquid or Fluid design
The page’s content expands to fill the browser’s width when the browser is resized. This is why liquid design is used. It will appear enlarged or shrinking. Instead of using fixed columns in fixed design, the columns that contain the content are constructed with percentages. Therefore, the columns can increase or decrease in size.
Responsive design
This method makes website viewing simpler by making websites accessible on various devices in easy-to-read and navigable forms. The user does not have to scroll, zoom or pan through the webpage in order to see the content. The website can be viewed and used on smartphones, tablets, and desktop computers. Designers don’t need to create multiple websites that can be rearranged for different devices when creating responsive website designs. Responsive design websites can display different content depending on whether the browser size is increased or decreased to predetermined sizes. If the browser width is reduced to 70%, then the webpage might only display two columns instead of three. The third column of content will be removed from the screen if the browser is extended beyond 70%. Mashable.com was designed in this manner. Click the link to play with the browser’s size. The internet connection to which the device is connected will also affect the quality of the videos and images. A slow internet connection will show the lower resolution video uploaded rather than the higher resolution video. This allows the user to view a lower quality video faster than the larger one. It also means that the viewer won’t have to suffer the annoying buffering screen (loading screen).
What is best for your company?
To determine the best layout for their website, companies need to analyze which devices their customers are using. If your customers aren’t viewing your website on smartphones then don’t waste your time or money on creating a responsive design and layout for them. You may also believe that your customers will use smartphones in the near future. To ensure your business is competitive, make sure your website is ready for each device.
