Digital Constuction

Responsive Web Designs

I have been designing and maintaining web sites since 1992. I am fluent in HTML ( no wysiwyg ), CSS and JavaScript and use "Ipswitch_FTP_Pro" on a daily basis. Photoshop is my main tool for graphic/image editing and HTML, Css and JavaScript all work together on most of my designs.

I have been exposed to PHP and use the very basic commands, ( time, thank-you message, etc. ) but do have an understanding of how to make things happen. I can also write and modify basic Javascript and Perl scripts to make things dynamic on web designs.

As for MySql and other common database software, I took a course many years ago that got me a basic understanding of using databases and the power they can give a design.

I have used content management software like DruPal, Wordpress, cPanel and others but prefer to use raw code with simple text editor.

Responsive web design RWD is a web design approach aimed at crafting sites to provide an optimal viewing experience – easy reading and navigation with a minimum of resizing, panning, and scrolling – across a wide range of devices (from mobile phones to desktop computer monitors).

A site designed with RWD adapts the layout to the viewing environment by using fluid, proportion-based grids, flexible images, and CSS3 media queries, an extension of the “@media” rule. The fluid grid concept calls for page element sizing to be in relative units like percentages, rather than absolute units like pixels or points. Flexible images are also sized in relative units, so as to prevent them from displaying outside their containing element. Media queries allow the page to use different CSS style rules based on characteristics of the device the site is being displayed on, most commonly the width of the browser.

Mobile first, unobtrusive JavaScript, and progressive enhancement

"Mobile first", unobtrusive JavaScript, and progressive enhancement (strategies for when a new site design is being considered) are related concepts that predated RWD: browsers of basic mobile phones do not understand JavaScript or media queries, so the recommended practice is to create a basic web site, and enhance it for smart phones and PCs – rather than try graceful degradation to make a complex, image-heavy site work on the most basic mobile phones.

Progressive enhancement based on browser, device, or feature-detection

Where a web site must support basic mobile devices that lack JavaScript, browser ("user agent") detection (also called "browser sniffing"), and mobile device detection are two ways of deducing if certain HTML and CSS features are supported (as a basis for progressive enhancement) – however, these methods are not completely reliable unless used in conjunction with a device capabilities database.

For more capable mobile phones and PCs, JavaScript frameworks like Modernizr, jQuery, and jQuery Mobile that can directly test browser support for HTML/CSS features (or identify the device or user agent) are popular. Polyfills can be used to add support for features – e.g. to support media queries (required for RWD), and enhance HTML5 support, on Internet Explorer. Feature detection also might not be completely reliable: some may report that a feature is available, when it is either missing or so poorly implemented that it is effectively nonfunctional.

Although many publishers are starting to implement responsive designs, one ongoing challenge for RWD is that some banner advertisements and videos are not fluid. However, search advertising and (banner) display advertising support specific device platform targeting and different advertisement size formats for desktop, smartphone, and basic mobile devices. Different landing page URLs can be used for different platforms, or Ajax can be used to display different advertisement variants on a page.

An alternative to RWD is the method of Adaptive Web Delivery or AWD that is adopted by consumer brands worldwide. Although it is very similar to Responsive Web Design, with adaptive delivery the most significant difference is that the server hosting the website detects the devices making requests to it, and uses this information to deliver different batches of HTML and CSS code based on the characteristics of the device that have been detected.

There are now many ways of validating and testing RWD designs, ranging from mobile site validators and mobile emulators to simultaneous testing tools like Adobe Edge Inspect. The Firefox browser and the Chrome console offer responsive design viewport resizing tools, as do third parties.

The technique of adapting a site's layout to a device's display was first written about by Cameron Adams in 2004. Ethan Marcotte coined the term responsive web design (RWD) in a May 2010 article in A List Apart. He described the theory and practice of responsive web design in his brief 2011 book titled Responsive Web Design. Responsive design was listed as #2 in Top Web Design Trends for 2012 by .net magazine after progressive enhancement at #1.

Mashable called 2013 the Year of Responsive Web Design. Many other sources have recommended responsive design as a cost-effective alternative to mobile applications.

Forbes featured a piece, ‘Why You Need To Prioritize Responsive Design Now’ where the importance was made clear that having a mobile version of your website isn't enough anymore. Jody Resnick, President of Trighton Interactive stated in his interview with Forbes, “Responsive websites simplify internet marketing and SEO. Instead of having to develop and manage content for multiple websites, businesses with responsive sites can take a unified approach to content management because they have only the one responsive site to manage.”

Resnick predicts, “As the internet transforms further into a platform of services and user interfaces that tie those services together, leveraging this technology in the future will allow companies to integrate a plethora of back-end services, such as Facebook, Twitter, Salesforce.com, and Amazon Web Services, and then present the integrated data back out the front-end layer on a responsive design so the application looks great on all devices without custom coding needed for each device or screen size.”

Some believe that responsive design will be more prevalent than native apps simply because of the browser compatibility and the cost associated with programming the apps.

Cost

My basic fee for small businesses is $400.00 for a four page design like the one you are looking at.

A deposit of $135.00 is required before any work is started.

On completion of the project and on approval from the client another $135.00 is required before the project can be uploaded to a server.

One month after uploading the project the balance of $130.00 becomes due and any modifications must be discussed.

If you prefer I have standard web design contracts that can be used but I prefer a hand shake.

Design It Yourself