Responsive Web Design: A Review of National Geographic's Website

COIT 20268 - Responsive Web Design (RWD)

Table of Contents
Introduction...................................................................................................................................2
Overview........................................................................................................................................ 3
Main features of the website.........................................................................................................5
Positive and negative aspects of website......................................................................................6
Positive aspects:........................................................................................................................ 6
Negative aspects:.......................................................................................................................6
User reviews and feedbacks.......................................................................................................... 7
Responsive web design..................................................................................................................9
Simulator tool.............................................................................................................................. 11
Recommendation........................................................................................................................ 15
Conclusion................................................................................................................................... 16
References................................................................................................................................... 17
1

Introduction
In the 21st century we can see a rapid growth in the types of devices that have been flourishing
the market. From laptops that display very large screens to the wearable watches, that display
a very tiny screen, all have become the part of our day-to-day life. But to keep them functional
their main purpose that is surfing the internet needs to be fulfilled. For this, designers and
developers should make their site so responsive as to fit each and every screen type to give a
very good user experience. The User Interface design is one the essential parts while making a
website, so it is important that every aspect of the designing are considered seriously and every
component in the website is chosen carefully and according to the device.
In this report we are going to review how responsive, the website of National Geographic is and
what are some common responsive design patterns it has followed to work across different
devices.
2

Overview
Responsive websites make the web page look good on devices (desktops, phones, and tablets).
It mostly uses HTML and CSS. Nowadays we see a large number of devices, they might have
very small screens like electronic watches or they might have screens as large as the full-size
laptop. The main aim of studying the responsive designing is directly related to making the
website adjustable on all kind of devices. It is basically the combination of grids, images and
media queries. HTML and CSS are used to move, hide, resize on the screen.
Nowadays, use of mobile devices is growing exponentially but not much of the websites are
optimized according to the mobile phones or the changing configurations. Mobile devices, as
we know are constrained by display size and require a different approach when deciding upon
the layout. You cannot simply list out things in a mobile phone, you need to know when and
where to put the combo box. The responsive design responds to the needs of the users and the
device they are using.
3