I'm designing a mobile-first site and the thing is, height-based media queries could really benefit my page layout in many ways. But I am holding myself from using them because like more than 90% articles I've read about responsive design don't even mention vertical media queries.
Even mixin libraries exclude them like the one I use (Rupture). And here in SO they don't recommend using it. It really feels like it's a broken feature or has loads of compatibility issues...
I just noticed Instagram uses min-height on their mobile site So I thought maybe it's really safe to use them.
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I am trying to make my site responsive and was originally planning on using #media screen property in CSS, in order to optimise it for mobile devices.
I'm already using bootstrap but want to modify parts of it (which I have been doing using #media screen) for mobile devices. However, I've been told that this is unprofessional and that I should avoid using this. Is this true?
Thanks
It's hard to fathom why someone would tell you that using #media screen is unprofessional. That's how media queries work for, ya know, screens.
No, there is absolutely no reason to think that using media queries for screen, print, or speech is unprofessional in any way. It's a necessary tool in your web dev toolkit and you should feel free to use it as intended for your responsive websites.
See here for Mozilla's documentation for using media queries: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/Media_Queries/Using_media_queries
UPDATE
Based on the update to your question (where you added that you are using Bootstrap), I would tend to agree with #aaron-mcguire's answer below.
As he alluded to, it's impossible to discern exactly the context in which your friend/colleague/person told you it would be unprofessional to use #media screen. But if you're using Bootstrap, it probably makes sense to customize Bootstrap's built-in grid system in order to best meet your layout needs.
It's a very wide question, the answer to the whole question would be no - it's not unprofessional to use media queries, they are a fundamental part of the responsive development process. Where the question becomes a little jaded is when you mention you are using bootstrap.
As others have mentioned Bootstrap also uses media queries: https://getbootstrap.com/docs/4.3/layout/overview/
Since we have no context or design to go off it's hard to assume whether or not you would be fine using the preexisting media queries built into Bootstrap or if you would need to define your own.
Perhaps the person you were talking to has said it was unprofessional using custom media queries in place of bootstraps built in ones. Which again is hard for us to judge without seeing code/design. I would say unprofessional is the wrong choice of words - if you're trying to optimise your website on a mobile device then it's probably more a question of - is it the most efficient thing creating custom media queries in place of using the #include media-breakpoint-up(sm) { ... } one.
But again take my answer with a pinch of salt because there is no real context to the question. Web development is a constant learning process there is always somebody who is going to tell you that something you are doing isn't the correct way.
I'm newbie for developing mobile website. I very confused between two methods because I dont have any experience this it. Whats more better between two methods: css query when we using all of width device in css file or using jquery mobile that use php technique for differented user that use desktop or mobile [user->php?->mobile use jquery mobile/desktop use css standard]?
Many thanks for this answer
I will classify methods by their importance, from most important one to less important:
Client side detection
Using Modernizer javascript library to detect mobile / desktop environment
Server side detection
Using Modernizer Server or WURFL. Little complex then first solution but much more detailed (if you need more data about used device)
CSS media queries
Bad solution to detect desktop /mobile devices. Current mobile devices can have screen resolution equal to desktop platform
JavaScript based browser sniffing
Worst solution possible. Specially if you want to make distinction between smartphones and tablets.
To find more about this solutions, read my other article/answer with examples: https://stackoverflow.com/a/15055352/1848600
I have to post an answer in here since this comes first in search engines and accepted answer is not accurate.
There are two main concerns regarding responsive designs:
Content: Content should be restructured based on the width/height of the view port so the user can view the content without the need of constant zooming in and zooming out. This needs to happen solely based on the resolution of the view port regardless of the device. It could be a mobile device or a small window in desktop. This mainly involved the look and feel of the website and it is absolutely fine to use media queries. Even IMHO it is the best to use media queries to have the separation of concerns between your view and logic. No web designer likes to see random width or height showing up on their html elements during debug without knowing where are they coming from. Media queries will help you to resize the elements and show or hide them; however, in some situations you may need to move elements around; I usually do these using ng-if or ng-switch in angular js in combination with modernizer.
Functionality: If you need to turn on/off features based on the device functionalities, do not depend on the viewport specifications; use the vast libraries available in JS.
On a side note smartphone browsers seem to render at far lower resolution than actual device screen dimensions. Bust out a quick JS to show you your window resolution and run it on your phone.
Example: Chrome runs at 360x640px on my android screen of 1440x2560px.
I am building a responsive layout with Twitter Bootstrap and I am finding it difficult to keep the layout looking good across all sizes/devices.
In my early attempts I tried simply using the grid for placement, but page elements never ended up where I wanted them at different sizes. Now I am at the point where I am using media queries to override some of Bootstrap's styles and my own styles. This seems like it may cause a maintenance headaches down the road.
Rather than overriding styles I am thinking that I should add/remove the styles based on the screen's size by registering for media query events.
Can someone offer advice on good practices for adjusting the layout of a page at different screen sizes using Bootstrap?
I am looking for general advice, but I can post code and screenshots if that will help.
Update: Looks like media query events are not well supported.
Your on the right track. Use CSS media Queries. Firefox has a nice add on that enables you to adjust the page to a particular viewport so that you can see the changes pixel by pixel, though Im sure chrome would have something similar
There are no special tricks just because its bootstrap, as long as you have enabled the responsive stylesheet then you are pretty much good to go
This is a good place to start for media queries
http://css-tricks.com/snippets/css/media-queries-for-standard-devices/
I'm in the early stage of building a site. I'm looking at some design elements that would take advantage of media queries to work properly at smaller screen sizes.
I've no problem with this except that this will be a small site and therefore pretty much the only javascript running on it will be a Polyfill for media queries for IE and other limp along browsers.
How much will this impact performance? Are there any proper tests that have been ran?
I ask because I'm in the stage now that if the polyfill affects the performance enough I can tweak the design so I don't have to use them, and also as a thought for future projects.
Bonus Question:
If I don't use mobile first but use mobile last, and do max-width queries rather than min, would I even need a polyfill. If nothing about the page is changing until it's less than 500px wide do I really need to worry about IE not displaying them? Or am I missing some edge cases?
Let's start with your bonus question.
If you approach with max-width media queries, i don't think you actually need a js solution for IE8 and below. That said, it really depends on what's your site "breaking point".
Probably, a user who still has IE7 running won't have an hd screen with 1920x1200 resolution. So keep in mind to make everything work well for 800x600 screens without media queries involved.
Personally, i prefer a min-width approach, so i can progressively enhance my site features. But it really depends on your project type/audience.
According to StatCounter's global stats, at Sept 2012 ~14% of users still use IE8, and less than 2% IE7.
If you want to serve the best user experience for this 15% (~6 every 100), then you probably need respond.js.
I've used and tested it on IE7 and IE8. I didn't notice a difference in performance, but i can't find any benchmark test online.
It's recommended by Modernizr and included in html5boilerplate responsive build, so i'm pretty sure you can...trust it ;-)
What's the best way to make an existing website fit for mobile devices(netbooks, mobile phones based on Android, Iphone, Blackberry etc.)?
Without going as far as implementing a mobile framework I would suggest taking advantave of CSS Media Queries which will allow you to serve up different css depending on the wdith of the browsing device.
A good start would be to look at the LessFramework which has taken all the hard work out the grid calculations.
Make it flexible.
You can detect different device widths with CSS media queries: https://www.w3.org/TR/css3-mediaqueries/#device-width
Less normative explanation: https://mislav.net/2010/04/targeted-css/
Great blog post: https://webdesignerwall.com/general/the-wall-is-redesigned
The CSS3 flexible box model can also be your best friend.
Twitter Bootstrap will also give you some nice out-of-the-box responsive functionality, meaning that the site's presentation will adjust based on the type of device and the size of its screen.
And I'd recommend checking out this book.
Current now many tools available, but how to keep good user experience is the most important.