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Responsive Design

Is There Potential For A Forum Dedicated To Responsive Design?

SevenCubed

5:16 pm on Feb 11, 2013 (gmt 0)

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I'm diving headfirst into Responsive design principles here this morning from a general overview perspective. This study also includes the potential for help from the world-at-large via forums to get me over hurdles that will no doubt be encountered.

In particular I'm posting this question because I've assessed the overall forums index here at Webmaster World for an appropriate category for posting and this is my impression.

Questions or problems would probably fall into any of these related categories:

I've already encountered a scenario here where a question that I may want to have answered as it relates to style sheets and viewports would also apply equally as well to the Smartphone, Wireless, and Mobile Technologies forum. That's because it's related to an issue concerning a particular phone not properly assigning the correct style sheet when the phone orientation is switched from portrait to landscape then back to portrait mode. But right now I don't need that question answered. Even though it's a real problem I'm just using it as an example because it's not related to an open project, I'm just beginning my boilerplate designs.

All that said, I'm wondering if there has been any consideration of creating a separate "Responsive Design" forum that can be an umbrella to bring the aforementioned technologies together while also leaving them as stand-alones if the questions are not directly related to responsive design?

We have had casual mentions of adapting our websites to a surge of mobile traffic in various other scattered threads. I would guess we're going to need to help each other out to adapt so would this be a good idea?

engine

6:32 pm on Feb 11, 2013 (gmt 0)

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That's certainly a great idea, and we really ought to have far more coordinated discussion on the topic.

You're right to ask if the topic is served by the exsiting forums, or whether an overal forum would have better traction.

ScottM

12:44 am on Feb 13, 2013 (gmt 0)

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This new forum can't be created quick enough.

My stats are now 25% mobile users.

And growing weekly.

I am certain that Google and other SE's will begin to give some 'boost' to mobile 'responsive' sites.

Get the forum going...like yesterday?
:)

engine

9:48 am on Feb 13, 2013 (gmt 0)

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ScottM, should it be mobile forum or category?

jinxed

10:39 am on Feb 13, 2013 (gmt 0)

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Good idea. This would be very helpful

jimbeetle

3:10 pm on Feb 13, 2013 (gmt 0)

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Great idea. It shouldn't be under mobile as it effects all platforms. Maybe put it under Code, Content and Presentation (and change the subtitle of the Webmasterworld category to take out design).

travelin cat

3:12 pm on Feb 25, 2013 (gmt 0)

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I think that any new forum should not be restricted to only responsive design, it should also cover web apps and the time to use either method or a combo of them.

bluntforce

6:29 am on Feb 27, 2013 (gmt 0)

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Within a few years, mobile use is going to outpace desktop use. The only practical solution I see at this point for dealing with the proliferation of different screen sizes and devices is responsive design.

"Code, content and Presentation" seems like a likely place for responsive design, but I think that minimizes the eventual importance of the concept.

@SevenCubed,
I've been working with screen width rather than individual devices. Portrait/landscape changes alter the width, which seems like a better working variable to me.

SevenCubed

4:32 pm on Feb 27, 2013 (gmt 0)

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@bluntforce

For the past few years my concept of mobile design was simply to ensure that a desktop version displayed and functioned 100% in the same way on a mobile, and they did. But each mobile user had to pinch and zoom according to their own device. That in itself was okay because the manufacturers accounted for that.

However now, like you and many others, I'm now working with viewport size. I want the experience for a mobile user to be very good as opposed to "good enough". I'm now approaching it from a manner of having completely different stylesheets for each width whether it's in landscape or portrait mode. The strong point of it for me is setting all images in the stylesheet as a string of base64 encoded characters and being able to assign smaller sizes according to screen width. That has an added benefit of reducing HTTP requests to the server. Also, apparently it prolongs battery life for mobile devices -- something I was totally unaware of until Lucy24 posted a link to a study of that some time ago somewhere around here. Overall I just want the page to display at 100% width without a need for horizontal scrolling or and need to pinch and zoom.

In case you missed it I posted a very basic mockup of how I'm approaching it over here [webmasterworld.com...]

graeme_p

8:31 am on Mar 2, 2013 (gmt 0)

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I do not think this should go into a separate forum.

Responsive design is something that every site must at least consider, and will probably become the commonest approach to design. As such its just part of good design practice, and that is already covered in other forums.

lorax

2:48 pm on Mar 2, 2013 (gmt 0)

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I think responsive design is worthy of it's own forum but not necessarily a category. It's unique enough as a keyword set that people would look for it and if it's buried under another forum then it won't get the discussions it deserves.

Leosghost

2:59 pm on Mar 2, 2013 (gmt 0)

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It is unfortunate that it became known as responsive "design"..when it is in fact responsive "layout"..

Design encompasses colours , fonts, images etc ..and layout..

ning

9:02 am on Mar 3, 2013 (gmt 0)

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A separate forum would be great.
Cheers

ScottM

1:06 am on Mar 6, 2013 (gmt 0)

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Within a few years, mobile use is going to outpace desktop use.

I agree.

I have been in several discussions with my 'boss' about mobile users and I (we) think that this is a big thing.

We started talking about how many people have 'smart phones' now, and how they are passing the time using them:

Mobile almost screams for a "billboard along the highway type of site".

Short
Simple

The whole 'responsive design' has made me re-think my whole approach to websites.

It is almost "get-back-to-the-basics-and-get-to-the-point" web design and I like it!

Mobile is a new "elevator pitch"?
[en.wikipedia.org ]

(Don't waste my time by making me scroll horizontally and don't forget that many of us need glasses to read tiny text...especially those with $$$. The call now button is pretty sweet.)

nubbin

9:39 pm on Apr 27, 2013 (gmt 0)

10+ Year Member

Great idea. I agree a separate forum would be really helpful.
I've had several sites that have performed well for over 10 years, but about a year ago they started to perform less well as they don't work as well on mobile devices. I want to make the sites responsive, but am finding it difficult to find examples of best practice and discussions of the issues. There are bits and pieces here and in other forums. It would be great to get some focussed discussion going via a dedicated forum.