Mobile devices seem to have become the primary source for accessing the web compared to its desktop and laptop equivalents. Here are a few statistics that will help you understand the growing popularity of mobile devices over desktop computers:
- 35 out of total 50 news website receive more traffic from mobile devices than desktop systems.
- The time spend on digital media via mobile in the US has increased up to 51 percent in comparison to desktop (42%).
- Around 50.3 percent traffic on an e-commerce site comes from mobile devices and so on.
All of the above statistics clearly suggest that your business website must be accessible to mobile users as well. However, creating a separate version of your site to adapt to different mobile screen sizes and platforms does not make sense. One solution is to make your original website design adjust to screens of all sizes and resolutions. Thankfully, a responsive web design (or RWD) can help meet your needs to create a website for the ever-expanding device, as well as, browser landscape.
There are several techniques you can follow to create responsive web designs, however, HTML5 and CSS3 have become the most preferred choice among webmasters and individuals alike, for developing responsive sites. Both these technologies have introduced several new and advanced exciting features that help take the pain out of creating responsive designs. Besides, they help in making RWD eye-catchy and fully-functional on all the devices – be it a laptop, Smartphones, tablets or desktop computers.
A brief Overview of HTML5
HTML (a.k.a. Hypertext Markup Language) is the standard language that is being used for building web pages for decades. However, compared to all HTML versions, HTML5 has proved the most resourceful markup language for developers. That’s because, the fifth revision of HTML allows users to build mobile-friendly websites, as well as, apps. And thus, it helps meet the expectations of modern websites. Let us look at a few features because of which developers are increasingly adopting HTML5 for website development projects (ideally, responsive website development tasks):
- It enables to embed multimedia such as audio and video, simply by using <audio> and <video> tags respectively that previously required using Adobe Flash and related software.
- An HTML-based web application can be accessed via a desktop computer and mobile devices. It helps in creating both websites and web apps containing several great features.
- It helps in achieving great visual effects, included rounded corners, animations and much more.
- If you’re a novice developer, then using HTML5 Boilerplate will provide you with a responsive template that makes it easy to create a responsive website quickly with HTML5-ready features.
A brief Overview of CSS3
Along with HTML5, another web technology introduced many changes in creating web solutions is CSS3. Thanks to CSS3, websites can be built with better visual styling effects and many new features. And it has played a significant role in getting rid of Flash software that was needed to achieve transition effects. In fact, CSS3 compared to all its previous versions is much easier to learn and fun to use. So, let’s look at some benefits of using CSS3:
- It avoids using specialized tools to embed visual effects like shadows, borders, etc. And, rather can help you create those effects making use of images only.
- CSS3 effects help in creating an impressive interface design and help design forms perfectly-suited for responsive layouts.
- CSS3 media queries help present the content that is tailored according to specific devices. In essence, CSS3 media queries help in creating an effective, responsive design that can scale to any device screen size. In order to make use of media queries in your stylesheet, you need to use the following syntax:
@media only screen and (max-device-width: 480px)
{
}
What is the Best Way to Create Responsive Design Using HTML5 and CSS3?
While you may choose HTML5 Boilerplate or CSS media queries to build a responsive website, another great way to develop such a site using HTML5 and CSS3 is to choose markup conversion.
Simply put, you can choose to convert PSD design files (or files of any other format) into an HTML5 responsive theme. Doing so, will help you give better control over your design and flexibility to make customizations to your responsive website. But, make sure to perform this process manually (by writing code on your own).
In case, you’re having any difficulty in the conversion process or don’t have good coding skills, you can take up the services of a reputed markup conversion specialist.
Wrapping Up
The majority of the developers is using HTML5 and CSS3 web technologies to build responsive web designs, as they give developers the ability to develop mobile applications that help meet new generation users’ needs. In fact, both these technologies have become the most preferred way for building a standard website layout.
Additionally, HTML5 and CSS3 web technologies remove the need of writing additional code for creating a responsive design, and thus make the website development process simple and faster.
Author Biography
Being a Senior Web Developer Jack Calder has awesome experience of building consistent applications related to web design and development. He is also a perfect website builder. Jack is currently working on to convert psd to html files.