6 Best Practices for Responsive UI design
Tags: css, frontend, webdev, responsivedesign
Published: 2020-12-15 11:58:52

Creating responsive web designs is a routine for professional web developers therefore mastering the skill is very important.

today I will give you tips that will get your front-end skills to another level.

## By the end of this article you will:

- Build layouts that adapt to any screen size, creating a frustration-free user experience.
- Unlock the power of breakpoints for a seamless transition between different devices.
- Design text that scales beautifully, ensuring readability on any platform.
- Embrace the mobile-first approach for a user-centric design experience.

### 1. Relative Units

![Gif portraying difference between relative and static units](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/i/011ffu0pg01dj5n0d1ao.gif)

using relative units is a very useful and efficient way to simplify your responsive web dev workload. as it permits you to define property values once for different screen sizes.


### 2. Breakpoints

![different breakpoints for most used devices](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/i/y2qezm73az9niz5y7g0v.png)

Essentially, **breakpoints** are pixel values that a developer/designer can define in CSS.

When a website reaches those pixel values, a transformation occurs so that the website offers an optimal user experience.

Knowing the standard breakpoints for every screen size is essential in responsive web design.

### 3. Nested HTML Objects

![Different elements nested together](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/i/gv38h3h15eilgeiuxsbt.png)

Using nested HTML elements allow you to easily position the as one body other than individually as can be seen on the card in the image above.

### 4. Bitmap vs Vector graphic images

![bitmap vs svg comparism](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/i/l5r43h7vei1l6b4k9skc.gif)

Bitmaps are made of pixels, while vector images are software-created and based on mathematical calculations which allows them to grow or shrink to any size without a loss in the definition of the image.

### 5. CSS Clamp for Fine-Tuning Typography ✨

![implementation of css clamp](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/9rvvpievs2m0ats5j5gv.png)

**CSS clamp** allows you to define a minimum, preferred, and maximum font  size for a specific element. The font size will then adjust within that  range depending on the screen size.

### 6. Mobile or desktop first design approach

![Alt Text](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/i/hj47g2vgdwxohza907hp.png)

Mobile-first design is a design philosophy that aims to create better experiences for users by starting the design process from the smallest of screens while the desktop first design approach which is mostly used means designing for the highest specifications — the best achievable by design- and then going down to smaller resolutions.

Which one you use is up to you but mastering both will definitely come in handy.

### Takeaways
- How to use relative units for flexible layouts
- The importance of breakpoints for adapting to different screens
- Why nested HTML is your friend for responsive design
- How vector graphics can save you from blurry images
- The art of responsive typography for clear reading on any device
- Mobile Users First: The Winning Approach