I can still hear my Dad saying, “son, don’t do twice what you could have done once.” I always figured it was his way of saying work smart, don’t waste time, think on your feet, save time and money, etc. Certainly, the old saying is relevant when designing today’s web sites and pages. For years, web page design involved designing cascading style sheets (CSS) for a single device (computer) then testing it to see how it worked using various browsers, i.e., Internet Explorer, Safari, Firefox, Chrome, to name a few.
Today, we operate in a BYOD (bring your own device) world, which means we have to design web content for effective display across multiple devices, as well as browsers. Recently, businesses and institutions have focused on a new method of design referred to as “responsive design.” It involves a shift from a fixed to a more flexible system of physical design measurements and options. So, when a web resource is accessed a determination is made as to how best to present the content. In the final analysis, one enjoys a more consistent presentation of content regardless of the device accessing the content. It makes for a happy customer, a consistency of message for the business or institution providing the content, and a better use of time and money for the designer. The new UNL Web Template 4.0 that departments and units are now beginning to employ is using a responsive design. As a result, our stakeholders will soon enjoy a more attractive and efficient web-based “front-door” to the University.
For information regarding the growing number of devices in the marketplace, the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life is an excellent resource. Please visit http://www.pewinternet.org/data-trend/mobile/device-ownership/. Enjoy!
-- Dan Cotton