How can you improve your use of media queries and breakpoints?

1 Choose meaningful breakpoints

Breakpoints are the points where your media queries apply different styles based on the width or height of the viewport. They should not be based on arbitrary numbers or device-specific dimensions, but rather on the content and design of your website. You should choose breakpoints that make sense for your layout, avoid unnecessary changes, and maintain readability and usability. You can use tools like Chrome DevTools or Firefox Responsive Design Mode to test how your website looks and behaves at different breakpoints.

2 Use relative units and fluid layouts

One of the benefits of media queries and breakpoints is that they allow you to create fluid layouts that adjust to the available space. However, to achieve this, you need to use relative units like percentages, ems, rems, or vw and vh for your widths, heights, margins, paddings, fonts, and other properties. Relative units are based on the parent element, the root element, or the viewport size, and they scale proportionally when the screen size changes. Avoid using absolute units like pixels or points, as they can cause overflow, overlap, or inconsistency.

3 Optimize images and media

Images and media are often the most challenging elements to adapt to different screen sizes and resolutions. They can affect the performance, layout, and aesthetics of your website if not handled properly. You should optimize your images and media by using appropriate formats, sizes, compression, and quality. You should also use responsive images techniques like srcset, sizes, or picture elements to provide different versions of your images and media based on the viewport width, pixel density, or media type. This way, you can reduce the bandwidth and improve the loading time of your website.

4 Use logical operators and features

Media queries allow you to use logical operators and features to combine or refine your conditions for applying different styles. Logical operators include and, not, or, and only, and they can help you create complex or specific media queries. Features include width, height, orientation, resolution, aspect-ratio, color, and many more, and they can help you target different aspects of the device or browser. You should use logical operators and features wisely and avoid contradicting or overlapping media queries.

5 Use mobile-first or desktop-first approach

When designing your website with media queries and breakpoints, you have two main options: mobile-first or desktop-first. Mobile-first means that you start with the smallest screen size and add styles for larger screens using min-width media queries. Desktop-first means that you start with the largest screen size and remove or modify styles for smaller screens using max-width media queries. Both approaches have advantages and disadvantages, and you should choose the one that suits your goals, audience, and content. However, regardless of your choice, you should always test your website on different devices and browsers to ensure compatibility and responsiveness.

6 Use CSS frameworks and preprocessors

If you want to simplify and speed up your development process, you can use CSS frameworks and preprocessors that provide ready-made solutions for media queries and breakpoints. CSS frameworks like Bootstrap, Foundation, or Tailwind offer predefined grids, components, and utilities that are responsive and customizable. CSS preprocessors like Sass, Less, or Stylus allow you to write nested, modular, and dynamic media queries using variables, mixins, functions, and operators. However, you should always understand the underlying code and logic of these tools and use them with caution and moderation.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?