Testing and Debugging Techniques for Responsive Websites
Tags: webdesign, responsiveness, bootstrap, webdev
Published: 2024-01-17 12:39:16

## What is Responsive Mobile Testing?
 
With the evolution of different screen sizes, one of the major hacks in web design is the replication of its design (text, UI elements, and images) on different screens such that users have a seamless experience operating the web through their device. 
Responsive Design Testing, therefore, entails a process by which web design is optimized using CSS media queries and viewports adjusted to all screen sizes and resolutions by which a user accesses the website. It eliminates the tedious method of writing different sets of code for different browsers and allows the freedom to use one set of code (HTML, CSS, and JavaScript) for a site so that the website scales itself automatically to an array of devices and resolutions.

## What type of testing is required to check the responsiveness of a website?

In designing a web a reliable method in checking the responsiveness is by “Cross Brower Checking.” 
Cross-browser checking is simply an assessment of how web design elements (display and usefulness) operate on different browsers and operating systems. Several tools can be used to check the responsiveness of the web: 
 

- BrowserStack: [BrowserStack](https://www.browserstack.com/responsive-design) is probably one of the most used responsive design testing tools as it offers a range of 3000+ browsers and smartphones on which you can test your site . The company offers both free and paid options.

- BitBar: [BitBar](https://smartbear.com/product/bitbar/browser-testing/) by SmartBear is another major tool used to test Web responsiveness. It offers a secure environment for testing more than 2000+ browsers. It has a free trial and payment option. 

- Screenfly: [Screenfly](https://screenfly.org/) is a free product available for all device types that allows text to be read on the website at different screen resolutions. 

- Responsive design checker: [Responsive design checker](https://responsivedesignchecker.com/) is another free tool that offers the basic design concept and determines the responsiveness of a site.

- Chrome Developer Tools: Most modern browsers come with a developer tool that allows them to inspect and debug the responsiveness of the web. The developer tools are similar across browsers and can be used in the same manner. Open your URL site on chrome, and on the landing page right click that pops open a menu and scroll down to _Inspect_ (Ctrl+Shift+I), which reveals the code style of the page you are on. To check the responsiveness of the web click on the “Toogle device toolbar”.

![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/3qp9ztnvbtrue17gfnok.png)

## How do I create a responsive layout? 

- Wire frames: Wire frames are a sketch or outline of how the web design would look like. This gives you a concept of where and what to do in writing code, which will enable a good user experience. 

![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/n21e7ycuw65f3o3q08tg.png)

- Viewport: Define the viewport with a meta-tag that tells the browser how to scale and size the content while rendering the page on the device. 

- CSS Media Queries: Media queries allow your page to adapt to the viewport. One way is to use @media in your CSS-style code. 

## How to confirm the responsiveness of your site?	

You’ve created a responsive site and you want to be sure that it is responsive across browsers and screens then you can follow these steps to be sure.

- Scale/resize content based on portrait or landscape orientations in mobile devices.
- Make a switch between shrinking and enlarging the window of your browser to see differences connected with changing viewports
- Confirm that the content, alignment, and the font in which it is written. Are they equally displayed on all types of devices?
- Confirm if images, videos, audio that are on your page are displayed and played without problems
- Navigate links and menus across different devices 

## Concluding Thoughts

In doing a Responsive design test, begin with testing the website on various viewport sizes to check if the content scales to fit correctly. Responsive design helps you to ensure a seamless user experience (UX0 and the correct operation of your site. If there are any inconsistencies in images, colors, fonts, you can make use of Pre-Designed Responsive Template like the _Bootstrap_ framework which lets you create a responsive design speedily.