What constitutes responsive images? These images dynamically adjust their dimensions to fit varying screen sizes, such as those found on desktops, tablets, and various mobile phones. Given the myriad screen display types and sizes, incorporating responsive images is non-negotiable. This tutorial delves into the simplest method for crafting responsive images.
VIEW DEMO DOWNLOAD SOURCEA plethora of responsive image techniques exist, differing in complexity and browser compatibility levels.One intricate method for implementing responsive images involves using the srcset attribute, which necessitates multiple images, additional markup, and reliance on a new HTML attribute that is not widely supported in older browsers. Conversely, the approach discussed in this tutorial is straightforward and utilizes only the CSS width and height properties, ensuring compatibility across virtually all browsers and devices. However, it does require that the web design’s layout be fluid or responsive.This tutorial will explore various implementations of the responsive image technique, all rooted in the same principle: Employ CSS to assign a percentage-based unit (or any relative unit, such as em) to the width property of the image, and then set the height property to auto.Let’s begin with a fundamental example. We have a div that serves as the container for an img element. HTMLThe container is assigned a width of 96% to accommodate left and right margins, and a max-width of 960px to prevent excessive width on larger screens. The img element within the container has a width of 100%, ensuring it maintains the same width as its container, regardless of viewport size, thereby achieving responsiveness. The height is set to auto to enable proportional scaling. CSSdiv.container { width: 96%; max-width: 960px; margin: 0 auto; /* to center the container */ } img { width: 100%; height: auto; }View example Note that the img element remains responsive even if it was originally assigned fixed width and height HTML attributes.This technique is advantageous for legacy content with fixed dimensions set via HTML.Occasionally, we desire images to be displayed side by side in columns. For instance, image galleries commonly employ a grid layout for thumbnails. To achieve responsive images in columns, we must adjust the CSS width property and assign img elements a flex property value of 1.Let’s explore two layout schemes: a two-column image layout and a three-column image layout.Two-column Responsive Image LayoutFor a two-column responsive image layout, we can set the CSS width property to 48%, which is approximately half the container’s width. The reason it’s not set to 50% is to provide the images with side margins. HTMLCSSThree-column Responsive Image LayoutFor a three-column responsive image layout, the process is similar; we simply adjust the width property to about one-third of the container’s width: 32%. HTMLCSSView exampleImplementing conditional breakpoints for responsive images displayed in columns is advisable, so that when the images become too small, the columns will collapse. We will need media queries to achieve this. In the following example, images will display in a single column on smartphones, two columns on tablets, and four columns on larger screens. HTMLCSSView example Note: It’s crucial to establish appropriate media queries for each design project. The media query parameters chosen in the demo may not be suitable for all layouts.For responsive images that consistently span 100% of the viewport’s size, we simply remove the container’s max-width property (which is set to 960px) and assign it a width of 100%.View exampleWhile this responsive image technique is user-friendly and widely supported across browsers, a drawback is that it always serves the full size of the images. Consequently, large, high-resolution images will still be delivered to users on small mobile devices, even if they cannot fully utilize the images’ dimensions and resolution.Should you wish to conditionally serve different image versions (e.g., smaller sizes for mobile devices and larger versions for desktops) to enhance mobile web performance, consider utilizing the srcset attribute and/or the picture element. For browser compatibility solutions, explore Scott Jehl’s Picturefill.
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