Developing for Multiple Devices

The rapid spread of mobile devices presents web designers and developers with challenges and opportunities. The main challenges lie in the different operating systems and the bewildering range of screen resolutions. However, we’re fortunate that this coincides with a period when mainstream vendors are taking web standards seriously. Unlike desktop computers, mobile devices tend to be replaced relatively frequently—at least in industrialized countries—where a mobile phone is typically replaced at the end of a two-year contract. Although designs for desktops still need to accommodate earlier versions of IE, you can start using some aspects of HTML5 and CSS3 to provide an enhanced experience for other modern browsers and mobile devices.

This chapter provided an overall view of Dreamweaver CS5.5’s new features designed to speed up the development process. The remaining chapters explore those features in greater detail, beginning with enhancing an existing website with HTML5 and CSS3.