A responsive website

[designm19985728]

My company has me to change the website to a 'responsive' version. ie so it changes size on mobile phones

I don't think it is, but I'll ask, is it possible to convert a current website to being responsive?

Does anyone know where I can get a good (free) tutorial on how to build a responsive website from scratch? The Adobe tutorials don't seem to help with this, and due to lack of knowledge on these things I keep thinking starting from blank will help with the understanding of it.

Should I be using Bootstrap? or is there another way?

Help

Thanks

[Jon Fritz]

Depending on your coding chops, and the original site, you may or may not be able to convert it, it's difficult to say.

Bootstrap is generally overkill if you know how to work with css media queries.

If you don't know how to work with css media queries, using the clickity-click bootstrap responsive starters could work but will likely be pretty confusing to modify for you. Bootstrap is basically it's own mini language of css classes. If you have some experience with css in general, you may be able to run the tutorials here: Bootstrap 3 Tutorial then some DW specific tutorials on working with BS Create Bootstrap documents in Dreamweaver

If you have no coding experience at all, your company (and your sanity) may be better off hiring a developer to develop a responsive site.

[Nancy OShea · Accepted solution]

Depends on how your old site was built.  If it's made to modern web standards with HTML5 and CSS layouts, you might be able to drop your content into a new CSS layout.   If not, then you're looking at a complete re-build.

Make your existing site Responsive

http://blogs.adobe.com/dreamweaver/2015/08/making-an-existing-site-responsive-with-new-capabilities-...

But keep in mind that a responsive layout doesn't make your site mobile friendly unless forms, navigation menus & content are  scaled appropriately for smaller touch screen devices.   A lot of  careful planning & streamlining goes into making a good responsive web site.  Mobile users interact differently with their devices than desktop users.   They require less content, bigger links and images/media that won't drain their data plans.

My advice is to read all you can online about RWD (responsive web design) and look at what other web developers are doing to see what works best.

Responsive Web Design Guidelines and Tutorials – Smashing Magazine

W3 Schools - Bootstrap

http://www.w3schools.com/bootstrap/

Tutorial Republic - Bootstrap for Beginners

http://www.tutorialrepublic.com/twitter-bootstrap-tutorial/

Nancy O.

[osgood_]

designm19985728 wrote:

Should I be using Bootstrap? or is there another way?

Help

Thanks

Probably not if you are asking the question.

If your company can afford it then consider purchasing a more streamlined way of creating responisve layouts with the extension below:

Responsive CSS Layout Builder for Dreamweaver

Not used it myself so youll have to ask for opinions in their own forum but having investigated Bootstrap I wouldn't wish that garbage on my worst enemy.

[designm19985728]

been trying to find solutions and help, found one article, not sure how old, it said that some web developers don't like the whole responsive bit, and feel it's easier to make two versions of the site - a desktop and a mobile.

Is this a more straight forward way of doing it?

Of course the question after that would be, how does a mobile know to go to the mobile version?

[cdeatherage]

It is true that some web developers build two versions of a site, one for web and one for mobile. They encode media queries to direct the visitor to the version that matches the device being used. Because of the double work this scheme requires, many web developers choose to build a responsive site for mobile first which then scales up to desktop browsing. Project Seven, Bootstrap, DMX Zone are several third party vendors who offer reliable responsive frameworks that reduce some of the effort required to code responsive sites. As Nancy, Paula, Jon and Osgood have indicated, it will be very difficult to convert an older (non-responsive) site to responsive.

Chris