I came across a situation in a project were i wanted to write media queries for iPad Air and iPad Mini separately. What i am wondering is how can i target it differently since their resolutions are overlapping. for example
#media only screen and (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { //iPad Mini
.content{
background-color: grey;
}
}
#media only screen and (min-width: 820px) and (max-width: 1180px) { //iPad Air
.content{
background-color: blue;
}
}
What background-color will be applied to the content class for the screen resolution which is between 820px to 1024px since it applies for both the cases? Please correct me if my understanding is wrong. what is the best way to handle such situations? thanks in advance
For screen sizes between 820px and 1024px, blue will be applied as the background color. Since both styles would validly apply to an element with class "content", and have the same specificity, the browser will apply whichever style comes last in the stylesheet. Read more here: https://css-tricks.com/precedence-css-order-css-matters/
It is technically possible to detect what device a user is using to browse your website, but only through exploitation of certain bugs, and likely not easily. You certainly can't write a media query that explicitly targets a specific device.
Even if you could easily, I wouldn't recommend it. In general, you should not design for specific devices - you should have a single, responsive design that neatly adapts to many different screen sizes.
If you're just looking for a good set of breakpoints, a common set of non-overlapping breakpoints are the Bootstrap breakpoints. A possibly better thought-out alternative are David Gilbertson's breakpoints.
Unless you have a good reason not to, you should just stick to using only min-width media queries (if your site is designed mobile-first), or just max-width media queries (if your site is designed desktop-first). This way, styles neatly and predictably overwrite each other as screen sizes get larger (in the first case) or larger (in the second case).
Related
I need a code that can change the layout of my homepage to be viewed in different PC monitors.
I already tried "responsive Webdesign", but I don't know if there is a way of making it be shown not just in different devices but also in different PC screen sizes? Thanks in advance.
css's media tag is the one you might want to look into.
Quote from w3c here:
The #media rule is used in media queries to apply different styles for different media types/devices.
Media queries can be used to check many things, such as:
width and height of the viewport
width and height of the device
orientation (is the tablet/phone in landscape or portrait mode?)
resolution
Using media queries are a popular technique for delivering a tailored style sheet (responsive web design) to desktops, laptops, tablets, and mobile phones.
When you refer different PC monitor I assume you mean different width/length, or aspect ratio or resolution. I also assume your situation is that you want to show content in different style on different resolutions, but all on PC monitor, like 720p or 1080p or 4k monitors, following code might help.
/* On screens that are 992px wide or less, go from four columns to two columns */
#media screen and (max-width: 992px) {
.column {
width: 50%;
}
}
/* On screens that are 600px wide or less, make the columns stack on top of each other instead of next to each other */
#media screen and (max-width: 600px) {
.column {
width: 100%;
}
}
As mentioned by caoool, Media Queries is what you are looking for.
Basically, using media queries you can write custom css if the resolution is more or less than a specific value.
FYI, there is an awesome open-source css framework called Bootstrap which makes designing responsive websites a lot easier and effortless.
Have a look at Bootstrap Documentation and Bootstrap Examples for more info about the framework.
as usually happens I have responsive navigation div. So I want to write CSS for it to have position fixed only on mobile devices. How do I do it ?
You can use CSS Media Query.
Here You can find more information:
Using media query
An example for your case:
#media only screen and (max-width: 40em) and (orientation: portrait){ // your code}
I can't really give an example because you have been extremely vague in your question, but you can use css media queries to change styles for mobiles. You can set the maximum width for which to apply those styles to, meaning that anything smaller than that width will use those styles. (There are also loads of other options for media queries like aspect ratio; you can see more of them here, as well as how to use them).
Here is a very basic example of a media query you can use:
#media only screen and (min-width: 480px) {
/* Styles here */
}
You can read more about them at these sites:
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/Media_Queries/Using_media_queries
Common CSS Media Queries Break Points
https://css-tricks.com/snippets/css/media-queries-for-standard-devices/
https://responsivedesign.is/articles/why-you-dont-need-device-specific-breakpoints
[There are many more, just google it and you will find countless tutorials and examples.]
I am getting into web development, and am having a bit trouble with CSS. I am more of a C++/PHP guy, so this is a different world to me and it boggles my mind. My only problem with CSS is positioning objects. That is literally all I have problems with. I can easily reference complicated selectors, and lookup how to manipulate certain attributes....but positioning stops me dead in my tracks.
This is less of a question, and more of a call out to someone who knows what they doing. I am completely in love with the concept of responsive web design. I, however, have never dove into this personally (I use wordpress and responsive themes to handle visuals---while I write the content and plugins i need). What exactly is involved in responsive web design? I heard of grid systems alot, and it makes sense in my head. Is a grid system what makes a page layout change? How? Do i code my own or use a existing system?
What about media queries? I see examples of this, and its amazing to me (i understand zero of it lol). With media queries it seems like you would easily be able to create a responsive site...but where does the grid system come into play?
I personally use media queries and would recommend it for you also, here are some tutorials that I used when I was first learning responsive web design:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIz02qY5BRA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fA1NW-T1QXc
Good luck!
If you are new into this the best option is to try to use one of the frameworks around to try to achieve resposiveness. I will suggest have a look to Bootstrap or Foundation
But to answer your question you usually use media tags in your CSS so you apply different styles based on the device being used to display the page. For example you can apply certain positions and sizes to your elements based on the screen width:
#media (min-width: 996px) {
#yourelement {
margin-left: 10px
}
}
One resource I use on my website is Bootstrap. Bootstrap divides the page into 12 sections. For each <div> element, you can choose something similar to .col-md-12. This will tell the element to take up the entire width of the screen.
If you would like to make a page responsive to screen size, you would type something similar to <div class="col-xs-12 col-sm-6 col-md-3> This is saying that on phones, xs, there will be one column. On tablets, sm, there will be two columns. On a standard screen and up, md, you will see 4 columns. You may also use lg for large screens.
Edit: To add to your second question about media queries, Bootstrap is based off of media queries. The follow shows what each size refers to:
/* Extra small devices (phones, less than 768px) */
/* No media query since this is the default in Bootstrap */
/* Small devices (tablets, 768px and up) */
#media (min-width: #screen-sm-min) { ... }
/* Medium devices (desktops, 992px and up) */
#media (min-width: #screen-md-min) { ... }
/* Large devices (large desktops, 1200px and up) */
#media (min-width: #screen-lg-min) { ... }
For more information about this, here's a link to Bootstraps CSS section that describes it.
Most of the tutorials I'm reading on using Media Queries are demonstrating the use of min-width, but I'm rarely seeing people using max-width.
Is this some sort of design trend, or pattern, why people are using min-width over max-width?
For example, I'm designing a site starting from mobile, working up to the desktop. I am using Foundation 4, but using media queries to remove various elements on the page and re-position the source order.
One thing I am facing is a custom navigation for any device whose width is 360px or less. I want them to have a vertical navigation, rather than an inline horizontal. So my idea was to use max-width to target these devices.
Should I be using min-width instead if I am designing mobile first? I.e. all the default styles are for mobile, and thus using min-width to progressively enhance the layout?
2 Part Answer
Part 1: To answer "why people are using min-width over max-width?":
It has to do with design flow. Typically, with min-width patterns, you're designing mobile-first. With max-width patterns, you're design desktop-first.
Going mobile-first with min-width, the default style is the mobile style. Queries after that then target progressively larger screens.
body {
/* default styles here,
targets mobile first */
}
#media screen and (min-width:480px) {
/* style changes when the screen gets larger */
}
#media screen and (min-width:800px) {
/* And even larger */
}
Conversely, using max-width, is desktop-first then adds queries to make styles mobile-friendly
body {
/* default styles here,
targets desktops first */
}
#media screen and (max-width:800px) {
/* style changes when the screen gets smaller */
}
#media screen and (max-width:480px) {
/* And even smaller */
}
Part 2: For your particular custom navigation for any device who's width is 360px or less:
You could include that as a separate max-width query, IF thats the only exception to the rule. OR use that style as your baseline, then change it for wider screens.
If you do an exception (which isn't really following mobile-first design methods), it'd be something like:
body {
/* default styles here,
targets mobile first
ALSO will cover 361 - 479 width */
}
#media screen and (max-width:360px) {
/* style ONLY for screens with 360px or less width */
}
#media screen and (min-width:480px) {
/* style changes when the screen gets larger */
}
etc...
It really depends on how your stylesheet works. For example:
#media screen and (min-width:100px) {
body { font-weight:bold; }
}
#media screen and (min-width:200px) {
body { color:#555; }
}
The above two media queries would make the body font bold if the screen is greater than or equal to 100px, but also make the color #555 if it's greater than or equal to 200px;
Another example:
#media screen and (max-width:100px) {
body { font-weight:bold; }
}
#media screen and (max-width:200px) {
body { color:#555; }
}
Unlike the first example, this makes the body font bold and color #555 only if the screen width is between 0 and 100px. If it's between 0px and 200px it will be color #555.
The beauty of media queries is that you can combine these statements:
#media screen and (min-width:100px) and (max-width:200px) {
body { font-weight:bold; color:#555; }
}
In this example you are only targeting devices with a width between 100px and 200px - nothing more, nothing less.
In short, if you want your styles to leak out of media queries you'd use either min-width or max-width, but if you're wanting to affect a very specific criteria you can just combine the two.
In short, min-width is a mobile 1st approach, max-width is a desktop 1st approach.
Min-width is the minimum width at which a style will START to be applied. (Have to be ordered from smallest to largest to work properly, regular styles first). Put another way: If device width is greater than or equal to..., then apply some specific styles. With min-width, styles START and continue forever as long as min-width is met, and no max-width is specified.
Max-width is the maximum width at which a style will continue to be applied. After that, the style will STOP being applied. (Have to be ordered from largest to smallest to work properly, regular styles first). Put another way: If device width is less than or equal to..., then apply specific styles. Styles STOP as soon as width greater than max-width is hit.
Finally, It depends on how you want to implement. There is no ONE RIGHT solution as some may claim. In my opinion min-width works great when starting from scratch, but max-width often makes more sense to me when retrofitting an existing web site.
What are Mobile-first and Desktop-first approaches?
A mobile-first approach to styling means that styles are applied first to mobile devices. Advanced styles and other overrides for larger screens are then added into the stylesheet via media queries.
This approach uses
min-width
media queries.
Here’s a quick example:
// This applies from 0px to 600px
body {
background: red;
}
// This applies from 600px onwards
#media (min-width: 600px) {
body {
background: green;
}
}
In the example above, will have a red background below 600px. Its background changes to green at 600px and beyond.
On the flipside, a desktop-first approach to styling means that styles are applied first to desktop devices. Advanced styles and overrides for smaller screens are then added into the stylesheet via media queries.
This approach uses >max-width
media queries.
Here’s a quick example:
// This applies from 600px onwards
body {
background: green;
}
// This applies from 0px to 600px
#media (max-width: 600px) {
body {
background: red;
}
}
will have a background colour of green for all widths. If the screen goes below 600px, the background colour becomes red instead.
Because you're developing a website starting with a mobile design and increasing complexity with resolution, I would advise going with min-width because that follows the same work pattern.
Technically, min-width is "mobile first" in the sense that you generally begin developing for mobile and add more complexity as the resolution increases.
However, the term gained popularity more so over its alternative meaning which has generally come to imply more about an increase of focus on mobile efforts and prioritization (mostly fueled by clients or management that don't understand the technical inference). That is likely why you end up seeing a lot of min-width examples online (trendy bloggers writing about trendy topics).
When I work with complex desktop designs, I personally find it easier to write max-width queries to "simplify the equation" so-to-speak. But using max-width queries does not prevent you from focusing on mobile and can still completely be a part of a "mobile first" strategy.
In either case, the most important thing is consistency. Use one and stick to it for that project. A project can become very confusing if it uses both.
As a final note, using less queries when possible is ideal. This can be achieved through good responsive design.
I had a unresponsive website first, designed for desktops. Then added responsiveness by adding max-width media queries.
My site now has layouts for 320px, 480px, 768px, 960px, and 1024px etc. wide devices, and so I have added media queries that look like max-width: 479px, max-width: 767px, max-width: 959px etc. This works fine - the site behaves as it should.
However, I've recently found that the Chrome Developer Tools "Device Mode" has a Media Queries Tool that is really, really useful to me. It allows me to click to display the website at each media query level that Chrome finds on my page. This is a great help to me when designing the responsive layouts.
The Media Queries Tool uses the numbers it finds in the media queries, i.e. 479, 767, 959, 1023 etc. But this means that, for example, if I want to see what how my layout for a 480px-wide device looks, I have to click the max-width 767px level media query, which to me is quite unintuitive.
This has made me rethink my current desktop-first CSS, and I will be rewriting my CSS using a mobile-first approach.
I think the mobile-first CSS using min-width will be much more readable, because you will see a media query for min-width: 480px and know that will be the CSS for a 480px-wide device.
The majority of sites I've been working on are designed for desktop first and in these cases using max-width queries makes sense. Generally if you are starting small screen first use min-width and then build on top with media queries targeting larger resolutions.
You can of course mix both min and max queries to get specific resolutions
Maybe have a look at using min-device-width for the specific issue you're having with the navigation
I am aware of the CSS 3 units vw, vh and vm, which seem to be useful for making elements that have their box sizes and text sizes relative to the browser's viewport size. However, sadly, these are not well-supported with the current major browsers; only Internet Explorer 9+ does.
What other methods can I use to do things like CSS font-size properties that scale with the viewport? I would like to avoid JavaScript and/or jQuery solutions if possible.
Doing a 100% scalable website is possible. As Rev said, you can do this by using percentage values, but it is tricky.
The better option is to utilize #media queries. These allow you to apply CSS rules to a page only under certain conditions. By using media queries to detect the device width and/or the page width, you can apply fine tune control over how your site looks AT different viewport sizes. For instance:
#media screen and (max-device-width: 960px) {
font-size:14px;
}
#media screen and (max-device-width: 480px) {
font-size:13px;
}
Now, the above example is rather trivial and contrived. For a deeper understanding of what you can accomplish with media queries, I recommend you view the W3C spec page. Some of the most powerful are the width, min-device-width, max-device-width, portrait|landscape, and print queries.
As a side note, make sure to include these styles at the bottom of your CSS, so that they dont get overwritten by default styles.