Using responsive fluid grid layouts

Prior to the smart phone boom, there were only really three sets of screen sizes you needed to worry about: standard screen resolutions of 1024x768, 1280x1024 and higher end large widescreen displays

There were always a few ways to optimise for higher end resolution screens, one of the most dynamic used at AWD was to utilise the excess space in the design with eye catching yet well blended backgrounds. If the user had a compatible screen they would see it and if they were only using the lower end display it would be omitted from their view.

Whilst these solutions work very well the advancements in the industry are posing a problem. With PC sales in decline for the first time in 11 years and tablet becoming the favourite of many, designing for multiple resolutions presents a big hurdle in the world of web development today. From laptop to smartphone each has its own screen resolution which needs to be considered.

We think we have the solution. Responsive Web Design has always been part of the process of building a site in which developers craft a site to optimise the user’s experience and now includes Fluid grid layouts. These are slightly different in that the site will resize itself to fit the resolution by shifting grids of the site and in some cases where the resolution is lower certain areas can be set to disappear completely. This is a great way to design for the ever changing market coming into 2013.

Unfortunately there are some drawbacks of using fluid grid layouts. Firstly the design needs to lend itself a fluid format. Text heavy designs won't really work too well. It can also be a major hurdle for your web designer to overcome and many painstaking hours can be spent in getting that design right for multiple devices. It’s because of these reasons that it essential to choose a web design agency that is able to adapt and overcome these obstacles so that your site is both up to date and cost effective.

Combining the technologies of HTML5, CSS3 and fluid grid layouts means that next year is going to be an exciting year design wise. Along wi development technology such as AJAX, we are going to be looking at some exceptional work next year.