As a modern approach, responsive web design makes a website look good on both computers and mobile devices. A responsive website is developed with open technologies like HTML5, CSS3 and JavaScript. The developers make a single web page look good on varying screens by using HTML and CSS to enlarge, shrink, resize, move, and hide the content. The single code base further makes it easier for developers to build, maintain, and upgrade the website rapidly.
But most users nowadays prefer mobile apps to mobile websites. The developers cannot engage and retain users simply by making the website look good on laptop/desktop computers, smartphones, and tablets. The next generation responsive web design helps developers to make the websites standout and deliver richer user experience. Web developers also need to follow the Do’s and Dont’s of Responsive Web Design. They also need to build responsive websites by using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. But they can take advantage of robust tools, apps, modules, and plug-ins to make the website deliver optimal user experience across devices, platforms, and browsers.
Overview of Widely Used Next Generation Responsive Web Design Tools
Adobe Muse CC
Adobe Muse CC enables users to create responsive websites without writing any code. The developers can further use Muse as part of Creative Suite. The latest version of Muse CC comes with features to improve performance of responsive web design. It allows developers to make the website look different by buying and synchronizing custom fonts. The design tools provided by Muse CS makes it easier for developers to optimize the responsive website by adding scrolling effect for varying screen sizes, creating and refining layouts on mobile devices, and adding animated transitions.
Sketch
Sketch is designed as a lightweight and easy-to-use package for macOS. The developers can run Sketch on any device powered by Mac OS X 10.11+. Sketch features a vector based workflow that makes it easier for designers to create custom and appealing artwork from the scratch. The designers can further take advantage of layer styles to create complex shapes through vector boolean operations. In addition to availing pre-built symbols, text styles, layer styles, and grids, the developers can further repeat elements like buttons, bars and bubbles throughout the user interface.
Macaw
As a mature next generation responsive web design tool, Macaw enables developers to build appealing websites by drawing code. The web developers can use Macaw as a flexible image editor. They can further use the framework to add breakpoint for individual devices, use system and web fonts, apply style to multiple elements, and share assets between pages. At the same time, Macaw allows developers to create dynamic layouts using static, fixed, and absolute positioning. The designers can further review the look and feel of the website by broadcasting the design to varying devices.
InVision
The popular workflow and prototyping platform is currently used by large enterprises like Netflix, Shopify and Dropbox. InVision enables users to implement next generation responsive web design by facilitating collaboration between various stakeholders. The prototyping tools provided by the app allow designers to create interactive prototypes simply by uploading their design files and adding animation, gesture, and transitions to the design files. The developers can further take advantage of the boards provided by InVision to store, share, and discuss each design idea with other designers.
Craft
The team at InVision has developed Craft as a suite of plug-ins for Sketch and Photoshop. The web developers can use Craft to design responsive websites by keeping real data in mind. They even have option to choose from a number of plug-ins – prototype, stock, data, freehand and duplicate – according to their precise needs. The plug-ins make it easier for designers to integrate both online and offline content into the design from various sources. For instance, a developer can use stock to integrate high resolution imagery into the design and prototype to create prototypes with real design files.
Materialize
The responsive CSS framework enables developers to build frontends based on Google’s material design. Materialize combines elements and material design principles to provide additional feedback to users by adding components and animations. At the same time, it accelerates responsive web designing by providing custom components, default stylings, and refined animations and transitions. The developers can further make the website standout by availing a number of themes for Materialize. Also, the material design will make the responsive website look both modern and trendy.
CSS3 Flexbox
CSS3 makes it easier for developers to implement next generation responsive web design using a new layout mode called Flexbox. Unlike conventional box model, Flexbox makes the responsive website standout by making its elements behave predictably which the layout keep changing according to the screen size of the underlying devices. It enhances the performance of responsive website using flex containers and flex items. A flex container can contain a number of flex items. The developers even have option to align the flex items in a number of ways. Hence, the developers can implement Flexbox layout mode to make the responsive website look identical across various devices.
Webflow
The features and tools provided by Webflow enable developers to build responsive website visually. It allows developers to create responsive websites with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. But the developers can create responsive website without writing any code. The Designer tool provided by Webflow generates clean code as the developers design the website and layout the content. The designers also have option to create a layout using a number of layout modes – box, flexbox and float. Also, they can use the typography and colour tools provide by Webflow to style the layouts without putting extra time and effort. The upcoming version of Webflow aims to accelerate animation and transitions by providing an intuitive visual interface.
On the whole, next generation responsive web design enables web application developers to make their websites compete with mobile apps. The developers can implement next generation responsive web design to make the websites standout in the crowd. They can further build next generation responsive websites using a variety of tools and apps. The programmers must pick the right next generation responsive web design tools according to precise needs of individual websites to beat competition.
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