How are you reading this journal entry? Are you using a desktop computer, a smartphone, a tablet or a TV? The devices being used today run the gamete.
Last week Mikaela, our copywriter, promised I would talk about one of the newest design features on which we’ve capitalized to create responsive designs. She’s pesky that way, making promises. But heck, a promise is a promise and this new feature is pretty rad.
Just what did we do? We gave Sliding Boxes an upgrade.
What is a Sliding Box?
Sliding Boxes hide text behind images. When a user hovers their mouse over an image, the Sliding Box reveals new information. This feature was created to provide users with the maximum amount of information while creating a clean and clutter free website.
What’s the problem with Sliding Boxes now?
While Sliding Boxes were popular in ’08 and ’09, multiple different types of devices changed the ball game. Smartphones and tablets don’t offer the hover feature that laptops and desktops do. This means users mobile users are unable to see potentially vital information.
What upgraded twist allows Sliding Boxes to work within a responsive design?
Unfortunately, we can’t change the way smartphones and tablets work. But, we can enable a website to recognize what kind of capabilities are possible on a device via Moderniz. (For example, it recognizes if the the device is touch enabled.)
This allows us to activate Sliding Boxes on non-touch desktops and laptops and an alternate version for mobile users. In the alternate version, the sliding box text appears below the image allowing mobile users to see it.
This isn’t earth-shattering, but it is an example of how we try to see the forest for the trees and design experiences which take into consideration the devices people use.
