In this lesson we will learn how to create a responsive site, designed to adapt and display correctly on various devices and screen sizes.
Responsive web design matters because people who visit your site use various browsers and may access it from their desktop computers, mobile phones, tablets or even smart TVs and smart watches.
Over half of your site visitors will probably view your site on their mobile devices. It is also worth pointing out that there are dozens of standard screen sizes and therefore having a responsive website is crucial.
Today we will cover, using a responsive theme, simplifying your navigation menu, using mobile friendly forms, understanding the intrinsic design of blocks, leveraging block extensibility and testing your site.
The first step is to find and use a mobile friendly theme from the theme repository. A responsive theme is a crucial aspect of modern web design that ensures optimal user experience across various devices.
This approach means that images, text and other content elements automatically adjust their layouts and proportions to fit the screen size and resolution of the device being used, whether it is a desktop computer, tablet or smartphone.
Fortunately, most modern WordPress themes are designed to be responsive out of the box. When you preview a theme, you can use the medium and narrow display options to see what the theme will look like on smaller screens.
Another option is to test the theme on your test website or WordPress Playground. Did you know there is an easy way to automatically install and activate a theme on Playground by merely updating the URL?
If you add question mark, theme, equals sign followed by the theme slug, which is the last part of the themes WordPress.org URL, it will automatically install and activate the theme to Playground. Ready for you to test.
Let's see this in action. If we look at the Frost theme, we will notice that the slug is frost.
Now we can open up WordPress Playground and change the URL by adding question mark, theme, equals sign and then the slug which is frost.
And now we will notice that the theme automatically installs and activates.
And then we can see what it will look like on a smaller screen.
Finally, you can also check out the reviews of others who have used the theme.
Next, simplify your navigation menu. Ensuring clear and clean navigation on all screens is essential.
To maintain a streamlined design on smaller screens, avoid clattering your header and footer.
When you edit your header or footer within a template, you can replace it with a responsive header or footer pattern that you can update according to your needs.
When we edit the Navigation block, we can open Settings and then we will see the hamburger menu is selected by default for mobile views.
The hamburger menu enhances responsiveness by providing a space-saving minimalist navigation solution that adapts seamlessly across devices.
Next, let's talk about using mobile friendly forms. There's nothing more frustrating than struggling to complete a form on your phone.
Ensure your site's forms are mobile friendly to provide a smooth user experience.
Find the right plugin and use responsive form designs that adapt to different screen sizes, making it easy for users to input information on any device.
Additionally, improve accessibility by making sure your form provides clear labels and supports proper tab navigation.
Next, let's discuss the intrinsic design of WordPress blocks.
Intrinsic design means coding web layouts and components that dynamically adapt to the available space, based on the content and user preference, instead of solely focusing on screen sizes.
WordPress enables the creation of flexible and responsive layouts using blocks.
This approach allows you to build a variety of designs without writing any code.
Blocks, along with their content, adapt across all devices due to their intrinsic nature. WordPress blocks, typography and spacing will grow and shrink based on the screen size.
While there is still work to be done to improve responsive controls in the Editor, the beauty of the block system lies in its extensibility.
There are excellent free and third-party block plugins that offer granular responsive controls if that is the route you want to follow.
You can consider using a plugin such as Kadence Blocks, Stackable or Jetpack to enhance your experience and gain access to more blocks and design options.
You can even choose to use a page builder if you prefer.
Lastly, before publishing your site, it's essential to view it on various devices to test it.
Open the site on your smartphone, tablet, smart TV, etc. to ensure its scales appropriately.
You can also drag the edges of the browser window to manually adjust the screen size and observe how your site's layout adjusts.
Something else you can do is to try and zoom in and out.
Press Command + on Mac or Control + on Windows to zoom in and Command - or Control - to zoom out to ensure nothing is hidden or overflowing.
It is also advised to use the Inspector tool in your browser to test different breakpoints.
In most browsers, press F12 or right-click on the page and select Inspect to open Developer Tools.
Click on the device icon, usually a phone or tablet in the Developer Tools toolbar to enter responsive design mode.
Drag the edges of the viewport to manually adjust the screen size and observe how your site's layout adjusts.
To conclude, creating a responsive website is a critical part of enhancing user experience and reaching a wider audience.