Advanced Styling with Responsive Design

It used to be the case that everyone viewed webpages on about the same size screen. But with the explosion of the use of smartphones to access the Internet, the landscape of design has completely changed. People viewing your site will now expect that it will perform regardless of the platform (smartphone, tablet, laptop, or desktop computer). This ability to respond to any platform is called responsive design.

This course will expand upon the basic knowledge of CSS3 to include topics such as wireframes, fluid design, media queries, and the use of existing styling paradigms such as Bootstrap. After the course, learners will be able to:
** Explain the mobile-first paradigm and the importance of wireframes in the design phase
** Create sites that behave across a range of platforms
** Utilize existing design frameworks such as Bootstrap

This is the fourth course in the Web Design For Everybody specialization. A basic understanding of HTML and CSS is expected when you enroll in this class. Additional courses focus on adding interactivity with the JavaScript Programming Language and completing a capstone project.

Week One: Style with Responsive Design
-What does it mean to have responsive design for your site? How can you tell if your existing site is responsive? This week we will begin with the theories behind the "mobile-first paradigm" - the idea that your mobile site should provide everything needed, not a pared-down version of a good page. We end the week by taking the first concrete step of using fluid measurements in your CSS.

Week Two: Basic Concepts
-This week you will get a chance to put the theories into practice using media queries in your CSS. These queries can automatically detect the size of the browser being used to view the page so that you can decide what type of look you want to achieve. There will also be a discussion on common practices for designing your different views at various screen sizes ("viewports").

Week Three: Use Existing Frameworks
-After every good programmer has put in time creating sites from scratch, it is common to utilize existing tools out there. After all, why recreate the wheel? The work you have done up to this point will give you the knowledge needed to craft your own unique sites from these frameworks. This week we will work with Bootstrap, a framework that uses HTML5, CSS, and JavaScript (but don't worry if you have never used JavaScript yourself).

Week Four: Experiment!
-This week is dedicated to solving those little issues that pop up when you move from theory to practice. We look at more advanced framework options and also hear from people who are using the techniques covered in this course.