In the context of Web development, what does the term 'responsive design' refer to?

The term 'responsive design' in web development specifically refers to creating layouts that adapt to different screen sizes. This approach focuses on building websites that offer an optimal viewing experience across a variety of devices, including desktops, tablets, and smartphones. By using fluid grids, flexible images, and CSS media queries, responsive design allows elements on a webpage to resize and rearrange based on the screen dimensions, ensuring usability and accessibility regardless of the device being used.

This design philosophy is essential in today’s web environment, where users access content from a multitude of devices with varying resolutions and aspect ratios. As a result, responsive design is a key factor in enhancing user experience and improving SEO rankings, as search engines favor websites that are mobile-friendly.