Is Your Responsive Design Working? Google Analytics Will Tell You

• By Jon Arne Sæterås and Luca Passani
• August 28th, 2014
• 8 Comments
• 

Responsive web design has become the dominant method of developing and designing websites. It makes it easier to think “mobile first” and to create a website that is viewable on mobile devices. In the early days of responsive web design, creating breakpoints in CSS for particular screen sizes was common, like 320 pixels for iPhone and 768 pixels for iPad, and then we tested and monitored those devices.

As responsive design has evolved, we now more often start with the content and then set breakpoints when the content “breaks.” This means that you might end up with quite a few content-centric breakpoints and no particular devices or form factors on which to test your website.

What 22 Billion Newsletters Tell Us About Designing For Mobile Email

• By Ros Hodgekiss
• August 21st, 2014
• 14 Comments
• 

Do you know which platforms and email clients to focus on when creating an email newsletter for yourself or a client? Using the data from over 22 billion email subscribers, we determined what designers should prioritize, both this year and beyond.

In this article, we’ll interpret the numbers from our “Email Marketing Trends” report to help designers like you make informed decisions about what works and what doesn’t in email newsletters.

Design Responsive Websites In The Browser With Webflow

• By Richard Knight
• August 5th, 2014
• 25 Comments
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This article is the first part of a series of articles on emerging responsive design tools. Today, Richard Knight explores the advantages of Webflow and how you can use it today to build responsive websites — perhaps a bit faster than you would build them otherwise. – Ed.

New tools have emerged to address the challenges of responsive web design — tools such as Adobe Reflow and the recently released Macaw. Today, we’ll look at one that I have tested extensively in the last few months. Though not perfect, it’s been a leap forward in productivity for the team that I work with. Its name is Webflow, and it could be the solution to the problems you face with static design comps produced in Photoshop and Fireworks.

This article will take you step by step through the process of creating a responsive website layout for a real project. As we go along, we’ll also identify Webflow’s advantages and where it comes up short.

You May Be Losing Users If Responsive Web Design Is Your Only Mobile Strategy

• By Maximiliano Firtman
• July 22nd, 2014
• 98 Comments
• 

You resize the browser and a smile creeps over your face. You’re happy: You think you are now mobile-friendly, that you have achieved your goals for the website. Let me be a bit forward before getting into the discussion: You are losing users and probably money if responsive web design is your entire goal and your only solution for mobile. The good news is that you can do it right.

In this article, we’ll cover the relationship between the mobile web and responsive design, starting with how to apply responsive design intelligently, why performance is so important in mobile, why responsive design should not be your website’s goal, and ending with the performance issues of the technique to help us understand the problem.

Prioritizing Devices: Testing And Responsive Web Design

• By Tom Maslen
• July 14th, 2014
• 44 Comments
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My Android Galaxy smartphone is so sweet. It plays games, has a lovely screen and lets me check all of my favorite websites while I’m commuting to and from work. And my new iPad is even better; it’s all I use at home when I’m relaxing in the living room, cooking in the kitchen or toileting on the toilet. As a consumer of electronic gadgets, I’m happier than Angelina Jolie in an orphanage with all of the devices with which I can use to access the Internet. As a developer, I hate it.

Have you seen how many browsers and devices we have to test now? I remember when Internet Explorer (IE) 8 came out and we were annoyed that we had to start testing six browsers. Now, we’re testing at least 15! Back then, when every home had broadband and before anyone had a smartphone, we were living in the Golden Age of web development. We never knew how easy our jobs were.

The WAI Forward

• By Heydon Pickering
• July 9th, 2014
• 22 Comments
• 

It's one thing to create a web application and quite another to keep it accessible — independent of the device that the user is using and its capabilities. That's why Heydon Pickering, now the accessibility editor on Smashing Magazine, wrote an eBook Apps For All: Coding Accessible Web Applications, outlining the roadmap for well-designed, accessible applications.

This article is an excerpt of a chapter in the eBook that introduces many of the ideas and techniques presented. Reviewed by Steve Faulkner, it's an eBook you definitely shouldn't miss if you're a developer who cares about well-structured content and inclusive interface design. – Ed.

Because the W3C’s mission from the outset has been to make the web accessible, accessibility features are built into its specifications. As responsible designers, we have the job of creating compelling web experiences without disrupting the inclusive features of a simpler design.

Breakpoints And The Future Of Websites

• By Obinwanne Hill
• July 8th, 2014
• 50 Comments