Building Blocks of Responsive Web Design

Abstract: The recent increase of smart device usability has had a profound impact on information availability and distribution. The flexibility and enhanced hardware features of these devices has amplified their capabilities. The result of their progression has produced a wide adaptation rate and thus can be found in several areas, such as government, education and financial institutions. To satisfy users employing such devices, suitable elements and structures are utilized; this inspires developers to generate content tailored for such units. Nevertheless, the sheer amount of platform specific guidelines overwhelms developers aspiring to target multiple entities. The dissimilarities continue with the physical attributes, in which diverse sizes and shapes are the foremost contributing factors. With the establishment of new web standards, the technique of responsive web design has emerged to facilitate multi-platform development. Consisting of multiple components, the design principle aims to produce device-independent content, classifying common characteristics and neglecting device specific elements. The investigation of this work concerning the essential technical aspects has yielded three major traits of the technique. This, in conjunction with the constructed prototype and the analysis of a business platform employing the design, has established an adequate summary regarding the foundation of the design, and has come to prove itself as an outstanding candidate for cross-platform development.