Breakpoints
Breakpoints are the specific screen sizes where a website's layout changes to provide the best viewing experience for devices like phones or desktops.
What are breakpoints in web design, and why are they so important?
Think of breakpoints as checkpoints for your website's design. They are the specific screen widths where the layout of your site adapts to provide the best possible viewing experience for the user. Without them, a website designed for a large desktop screen would look squashed and be difficult to use on a mobile phone. You'd be pinching and zooming just to read the text.
Breakpoints are the foundation of responsive design. They ensure that no matter what device someone is using, from a small phone to a massive monitor, your website looks great and is easy to navigate. This is crucial for keeping visitors engaged and making a professional impression.
How do breakpoints work differently in Figma and Webflow?
Figma and Webflow are both essential tools in our process, but they handle breakpoints in different ways. In Figma, we design static mockups of how the website should look at each key breakpoint. It's like creating a detailed blueprint for a house, showing exactly how the living room should look, how the kitchen is laid out, and so on. We design for desktop, tablet, and mobile to create a clear visual guide.
Webflow is where we bring that blueprint to life. We take the static designs from Figma and build them into a fully functional, responsive website. Webflow has default breakpoints for desktop, tablet, mobile landscape, and mobile portrait that serve as our starting point. We then implement the design changes for each one, ensuring the layout, font sizes, and spacing all adapt perfectly. This seamless Figma to Webflow handoff is key to turning a beautiful design into a high-performing website.
What are the most common breakpoints for responsive design?
While every project can have unique needs, there are some common starting points that align with typical device sizes. Webflow's default breakpoints are a great example and cover most use cases effectively. The base desktop style applies to anything 992 pixels and wider. The tablet view is set for screens between 768 and 991 pixels. Mobile landscape covers 480 to 767 pixels, and mobile portrait is for anything below 479 pixels.
It's important to remember these are just guidelines. The best breakpoints aren't determined by device sizes alone, but by your content. The goal is for the design to look and feel good at every possible width, not just at these specific points. A good designer ensures the layout adapts smoothly between these breakpoints, so the experience is always optimal.
How do the right breakpoints improve my site's user experience and SEO?
Well-chosen breakpoints have a massive impact on both your user experience (UX) and your search engine optimisation (SEO). From a UX perspective, a site that adapts correctly is simply a joy to use. Text is always readable, buttons are easy to tap, and images resize properly. This positive experience keeps users on your site longer and makes them more likely to convert.
This improved user experience sends positive signals to search engines like Google. Google prioritises mobile-friendly websites, so having a responsive site built with proper breakpoints is a fundamental part of modern technical SEO. It helps your site rank higher in search results, leading to more organic traffic. It also positively influences your Core Web Vitals, as a stable, responsive layout prevents elements from shifting around during loading, which is a key performance metric.
When thinking about breakpoints, should I design mobile-first or desktop-first?
This is a great question and a key strategic decision in the web design process. The mobile-first approach involves designing the simplest version of your site for mobile screens first, then progressively adding more features and complexity as the screen size increases. This method often leads to cleaner, faster, and more focused websites because it forces you to prioritise the most important content and functionality from the start.
The desktop-first approach is the more traditional method, where you design the full-featured desktop version and then adapt it for smaller screens by removing or reorganising elements. While this can also work, it sometimes results in a mobile experience that feels like a stripped-down version of the desktop site, rather than an experience designed specifically for the mobile user.
Deciding on the right approach depends on your specific audience and project goals. At Tahi Studio, we guide our partners through this process, ensuring the final design is built on a solid, future-proof foundation. If you're unsure where to start, a free site audit can be a great first step to understanding how your current site performs across all devices.
