Responsive Web Design allows designers to implement web pages which work equally well on different types of devices. Cascading Style Sheets 3 (CSS3) media queries enable the CSS used to control the page look and feel to be altered based on screen size, and other properties of the device when the page is being rendered on the browser. Responsive Design works really well with simple web pages containing elements that are implemented consistently across the major browser vendors. 

Sometimes something more is needed, here are 5 signs Responsive Design alone isn't working.

20% of web traffic in Europe and North America is now coming from mobile devices. Smart TVs will soon add to the variety of devices accessing web sites. Web sites must now recognise mobile phones, tablets, eReaders, TVs, games consoles and do so in a way that is future proof and supports their varied characteristics. Responsive web design is only part of the solution.

Watch this video presentation to find out how to create a future proof roadmap for your web site and see some of the simple techniques available to DNN users demonstrated today.

Our PHP device detection API includes a feature to update the rules and data used to identify requesting browsers, operating systems and hardware via a single PHP script (51Degrees.mobi.update.php). Plug-in developers want to use this script to provide a simple button to update the device data from within their favourite CMS' administration interface. However our update script simply writes status messages back to the browser as plain text. Some browsers don't display these messages as they arrive, instead waiting until the entire message has been received. This is no good if we want to provide the user update status messages as the update is happening. For example; "Calculating Delta" or "Verifying Changes". We therefore need a method to display these messages as they arrive. This blog explains a surprisingly simple solution.

On 11th July 2012 I held a web seminar with DotNetNuke titled "Take Your Site Mobile with 51Degrees.mobi and DNN". A recording of the web seminar is available on the DotNetNuke web site. We received far more questions than I was able to answer in the time! This blog post contains a consolidated list of questions and answers. Please use the comments if you have any follow up questions. Thank you.

On 1st June 2012 I'll be arriving a Bletchley Park in the UK with a backpack, tent, sleeping bag and a set of slides for Over the Air 2012. This blog post contains a link to those slides, as well as video and other useful stuff relevant to the event.

The weather outside may be a typically damp British April - but here at 51Degrees.mobi there’s not a cloud in the sky. We’ve developed a mobile device detection solution that doesn’t rely on a ‘cloud’ connection every time there’s a new visitor to your mobile web site.

As far as we’re concerned, cloud services are very well-suited to location-based services and other applications that require vast quantities of data. They’re also often a practical solution when information needs to be shared but needs to be controlled or monitored as well.

However, mobile device detection is a completely different type of situation.

51Degrees.mobi strongly believes that one size doesn’t fit all. It’s the reason we created our own mobile device description repository, which enables web designers to create a site that’ll adapt automatically for visitors using mobile phones.

However, it’s important to realise that a choice of just two sizes can also be less than ideal. With consumers now using portable internet-connected devices that range from feature phones to iPads, simply deciding whether or not a handset is ‘mobile’ isn’t always enough.

If I see a street sign that says The Close, I’d expect the road to be a cul-de-sac. If it’s called The Crescent, I’d expect it to be curved. The Boulevard may well have a central reservation. And the High Street will probably have shops. Not always but often.

It’s the same with domain names. A co.uk address suggests a UK business, while co.il is most likely to be based in Israel. There’s .gov for government, .edu for education and so on. We’ve chosen 51Degrees.mobi for our business because the suffix indicates a mobile-friendly site.

But the web has just been shaken up. No longer do you need to settle for a suffix chosen by ICANN, the overlords of the internet. (Not even those odd ones like .coop, .museum and .aero). Instead, you can make up your own domain.

Every year, TheFonecast.com offers its mobile industry predictions for the following twelve months. In December, I joined Iain Graham and Mark Bridge to offer my forecast for 2012.

More recently, I was invited by GoMo News to share further details about some of those thoughts... including the potential decline of Apple’s mobile market share and the growth of Microsoft’s Windows Phone operating system.

I was recently talking to a customer who needs a hyperlink to download the latest version of the 51Degrees.mobi Premium data. The following link can be used:

https://51degrees.mobi/Products/Downloads/Premium.aspx?LicenseKeys=[YOUR_PREMIUM_LICENSE_KEY]&Type=Binary&Download=True