designing

Web design hasn’t been around for all that while, but within that short period, it has already grown so much. Its short history was made even more eventful by Ethan Marcotte who is credited with having coined the term RWD “responsive web design”. Not only did Ethan just conjure up a new world, but he also helped create something that would change the way the web worked. Here’s a look at one of the newest trends out there and why it is so significant.

What is Responsive Web Design

The word Responsive Web Design, known commonly as RWD was coined by Ethan Marcotte in 2010. Essentially, RWD includes all philosophies, ideas, and technologies that allow websites to respond to user interaction. Until a few years ago, most browsers ran on computers whose displays were around 800 to 1024 pixels wide. Hence, most web-pages were built for these sizes. As per this system, the widths of the columns and images were pre-set. Problems started rising when users switched to different screen sizes. In the early 2000’s, to combat this issue, web designers resorted to techniques known as fluid design and liquid layout. 

These techniques circumnavigated the issue by relying on different methods to define the width or length of texts and images. For example, by using percentages to denote width, the image would be of the same size, no matter what the size of the screen. However, new problems arose when people started relying on their mobile phones to browse the internet. Even using these techniques made it difficult for users to navigate the web-page without having to zoom in and out.

About the Developer

Ethan Marcotte works as an independent web designer, who has clients such as the New York Magazine, Sundance Film Festival, and People Magazine. He is also an active Tweeter and runs a blog on Twitter that addresses doubts and updates in the field of RWD. He has also released a book called Responsive Web Design, which outlines the fundamentals of RWD. He also regularly speaks at conferences and has held workshops at Adobe MAX, and Webstock. 

What Ethan Did

The technologies required to create a responsive web was already existing before Ethan entered the scene. These include fluid grids, images, and media queries, which are all staple ingredients for any web-page. But what Ethan did, united these techniques and bring them all under a single umbrella- that of Responsive Web Design. This, in turn, led to a digital revolution that saw change the way they used to think about web design. That is why, in many ways, Ethan Marcotte is considered a magician who changed the future of web design. Ethan has constantly talked about how this idea came to him back in the late ’90s, and that John Allsopp’s article A Dao of Web Design, has been a huge inspiration for him.

Ethan was so inspired by John’s work that he actually switched to flexible layouts when it came to his own projects such as his blog, way back in 2000. But for the most part, most professional websites still relied on fixed-width layouts. It was when the mobile phone industry broke through that Ethan started using fluid grids for client projects. 

Creating RWD 

When mobile devices became a huge hit, users found it very difficult to access actual web-pages on them owing to size constraints. There were so many issues that it looked like mobile browsers just wouldn’t be worth the effort. But all this changed, when Marcotte published a paper in A List Apart, that suggested using responsive web design. The paper explained how due to the sudden and constant changes in the field of web design, the only way forward would be to rely on self-sufficient and intuitive systems.

Why RWD?

With the variety and number of devices trying to access the web growing every day, being able to cater the page to the most number of people becomes vital. This is where RWD becomes a critical tool for every web developer and designer. As companies need to adapt their websites for all devices, RWD helps designers create just one code or URL for a site that can be viewed on a multitude of devices with ease. Not only are they a cost-effective solution, but they are also easy to run, maintain and manage, allowing companies to focus on more important things such as content.

Leading the Way

Such websites are highly intuitive and adapt themselves according to the device a user is utilizing to view the web-page. The system automatically rearranges and re-orients the data on the web-page to suit the display or screen of the device, so that the website is an optimal visual experience for all users. The responsive design has grown to become a gold standard within the industry. It is now the design type that is preferred by almost all designers across the web, and around the world. So much so in fact, that Google’s new update will penalize any website that does utilize RWD.

Everyone knows that mobile users are slowly, yet surely, taking over the world wide web. Hence, to survive, companies must be able to provide their customers with a seamless user experience. This will not be possible in the years to come, without the help of RWD. Without Ethan Marcotte and his ideas on RWD, companies around the world would not have been able to create websites that users like and enjoy visiting. It goes without saying, that a few years down the line, Ethan Marcotte will be credited as having saved the World Wide Web from crashing!