Web page layouts
form the basis of a website
Practically everything you find on the net is contained in websites. These usually contain various forms of content, which is presented in certain layouts. The relevance of the website layout is often underestimated. In fact, it is just as important as its content and should be precisely tailored to the respective requirements as well as responsive, simple and of course at best impressive.
Complex requirements due to technological progress
Nowadays, technological progress enables us to search the web using any device we want. Of course, this results in completely different - and above all far more complex - requirements for the creation of web layouts than 10 or even 20 years ago. Today, these should be able to react to any dimension without restrictions and as quickly as possible.
It all started with tables
In the early days of the Internet, more complex layouts were still generated directly in HTML using tables. Finally, with the introduction of CSS, developers were given a tool that could influence the appearance of websites in a much more differentiated way. However, creating multi-column layouts could be very time-consuming and often frustrating. To implement such and other complex representations as well as integrated content consistently and precisely across different browsers was sometimes an extremely nerve-racking undertaking. One experimented with floats and inline block constructs, but in many cases did not come to an acceptable result without compromises.
Flexbox and CSS grid
for complex layouts
Fortunately, with the increasing focus on mobile devices, more and more powerful and at the same time very functional tools have been developed to solve such layout problems. Today, Flexbox and CSS Grid can be used to create the most complex structures, which work practically without any problems with all imaginable browsers and devices. These techniques not only make it possible to create layouts in a comparatively simple way, which would not have been possible without JavaScript in the past, but also offer the chance to maintain, adapt and further develop the code much more efficiently.
The latter points are extremely important in view of the continuing rapid development. Because a layout that is difficult or, in the worst case, not adaptable at all may not be able to function as desired in the future, and corresponding content - no matter how good it is - may not be presented in the most advantageous way.
Individual templates generate more conversions
In general, today it is essential for the success of a website to remain flexible. This not only refers to changing technical requirements, but also to the expectations of the users! With this genesis, a "finished" theme or template, which provides a pre-programmed standard layout, can hardly keep up with even the most meticulous post-processing.
As people now spend a lot of time on the web, both at work and at home, they can easily distinguish between a unique layout and an off-the-shelf layout. This is not always done consciously, but is always reflected in the cover versions. It is therefore more important than ever to give a website its own identity by means of individual structures, best usability, unique processes, compatibility with third party systems, loading times etc.
Saving resources and fast loading times
All that is needed at the base is CSS Grid and Flexbox. Layouts created with these technologies can practically automatically align themselves to different screens. In addition to the comparatively simple implementation and adaptability, they require fewer resources from servers and end devices than, for example, a large framework with bootstrap. This in turn has an effect on loading times - which are so important for SEO today.
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