In this presentation, we cover Responsive Web Design, going from a basic overview of the concept to common design patterns and pitfalls. This was presented at the April 24, 2012 Web Developers Group Meeting.

The University of Missouri makes heavy use of Hannon Hill’s Cascade Server, a XSLT-based content management system. One of the downsides to Cascade is that it doesn’t build live pages on the fly. Changes to files and templates must be published out before they will be live on the server. Even a fairly minor edit, like changing contact information in the footer, may require your entire site to be republished.

Fortunately, there is a solution. We can move our boilerplate content to separate files, and instead configure Cascade to use PHP includes on the live site.

Web design is a field prone to major shifts. For the last few years, the advent of the mobile web has commanded our attention. We must now assume that almost any site we produce will be viewed on a variety of devices—from phones, to tablets, to traditional desktops.

I believe the next major development will be high-definition displays, and this is a shift we should begin preparing for as soon as possible.

When developing a dropdown menu for your site, it’s important not to assume that all your visitors will be navigating with a mouse. Some might be using the keyboard exclusively to navigate your website.

Fortunately, enabling keyboard access is a relatively simple task.