Flutter is a cross-platform framework for app development that works on all devices. Flutter can be used on a smartwatch as small as a watch face or a TV screen. The same codebase may not be able to adapt across a wide range of screen sizes and pixel densities.
Flutter does not have any rules for creating responsive layouts. We will discuss some of the approaches you can take when designing a layout that is responsive. Before we begin building responsive layouts using Flutter, let's take a look at native layouts for Android and iOS.
What Is Responsive Design?
Responsive Design (User Interface), also called adaptive app design, allows mobile and web apps to adapt their custom layout according to the device or screen size. Responsive UI aims to provide the best viewing experience for users, regardless of the screen size or device they are using.
A responsive UI design for flutter allows mobile applications to adjust their layout, font size, and other basic elements to fit the smaller screens on smartphones or tablets. On small screens, the app might display one column of content. However, on larger screens it may switch to multiple columns. This will ensure that your app offers a great user experience on a variety of devices.
A responsive user interface in web development allows web pages' layouts, font sizes and other visual elements to be adjusted according to the size or the device that they are being displayed on. It allows web pages to be read on a wide range of devices including desktops, laptops and smartphones.
Why Does Responsive Design Matter In Flutter
Flutter apps that are responsively designed have many advantages. If your application is compatible with all screen sizes, it will appeal to a wider audience. Tablets and smaller mobile devices can enjoy a tailored user experience.
Your application's retention rate will increase if you use a responsive design. Flutter's responsive layouts are a must because it is a great choice for web and mobile apps. This ensures your application is appealing and that users have a seamless experience, no matter which device they use.
You can also avoid bad ratings by incorporating responsiveness into your application. On the App Store, there are over 2 million apps and on Google Play, more than 3 million. Users choose apps based on reviews. You want good reviews. Include responsiveness as part of your flutter app development checklist.
Why Should Your Flutter App Be Responsive?
A Flutter application can be run on any mobile device, tablet or TV screen. Apps should be able accommodate today's wide range of screen sizes and resolutions. Apps should be able to adjust landscape or portrait mode as the user rotates his phone. In order to meet all user requirements, it's important to design responsive layouts that are responsive enough.
Flutter Responsive App Examples:
Here are some of Flutter's most popular web applications.
- You can control Google Ads campaigns on your smartphone with the Google Ads mobile app.
- Reflecting, an AI-powered journaling application that combines cognitive behavior therapy and positive psychology to help users cope with daily stress.
- This smartphone app simplifies the ordering of food for delivery. It's one of the most popular food-delivery apps available today.
- Watermania, a lightweight app for monitoring water usage, is built with the Flutter framework. It allows consumers to keep track of the daily water consumption.
- The Flutter app Cryptograph allows you to keep track of all the latest changes in more than 1600+ cryptocurrencies worldwide, including Bitcoins, Ripples, Ethereums, and many others.
Android Approach
Android's design for flutter uses the following concepts to accommodate different screen densities and sizes:
Constraint Layout
ConstraintLayout is one of the most revolutionary tools for Android UI design. Flutter's responsive layouts are adaptable to different sizes and dimensions of screens. ConstraintLayout allows you to specify the size and location of each view depending on its spatial relationship with the other views.
It does not address the issue of large devices, where stretching or resizing UI elements to fit the screen may not be the best solution to maximize screen space. This also applies to smartwatches, and other devices that have limited display space.
Alternative Layouts
Use layouts different for each device to fix the above problem. On tablets, a split view is a great way to maximize the screen and give users a better experience.
The Flutter layout feature in Android Studio allows you to create different layouts for different screen sizes. Android will automatically switch between the layouts depending on your device size.
Fragments
Fragments let you separate your UI logic into separate components. You can avoid having to define the logic separately when designing layouts that have multiple panes and large screens. The logic that you define for each fragment can be reused.
Vector Graphics
Vector graphics are images defined in XML as paths and colors instead of pixel-bitmaps. Scaling is possible without artifacts. VectorDrawable is a tool that can be used to create any kind of illustration in Android.
iOS Approach
Here are the concepts iOS uses to define responsive design.
Auto Layout
Auto Layout lets you create adaptive interfaces. Create rules (also called constraints) to govern the content in your app. Auto Layout automatically adjusts layouts when certain environmental variations (also known as traits) are detected.
Size Class
Size classes are attributes assigned to content areas based on their size. iOS adjusts dynamically the layout of content based on size classes. On the iPad, size classes are used when your app is running in multitasking mode.
Some UI Elements
On iOS, you may also utilize UIStackView, UIViewController, and UISplitViewController to build responsive user interfaces.
How Do I Create A Responsive Flutter App?
This section will show you how to create responsive layouts using a design flutter app. You will need to hire a web developer for this.
1. Media Query
It shows the size and the orientation of the application. This is helpful when you need to make a choice based on the context of an app rather than just its size.
2. Layout Builder
Media Query is a simplified version in Layout Builder. Media Query is different from Layout Builder because it takes into account the whole context of the screen, rather than just the widget size. Layout Builder determines only the maximum width and height of a dynamic widget. Layout Builder provides the Box Constraints Class to determine the maximum height and width of a widget.
3. Orientation Builder
OrientationBuilder is a class that can be used to determine the orientation of a widget. The Layout Builder widget and the Orientation Builder widget have a similar user interface. You can get the Orientation object by using the builder property of the OrientationBuilder class. For example, you can use OrientationBuilder in GridView to change the number columns.
4. The Expanded & Flexible Widgets
You can place the Expanded Widget or Flexible widget inside the Row, Column or Flex widget so that your children have the option to fill in the available space. Flexible widgets are not required to fill the entire space, but Expanded widgets do. The Flexible and Expanded widgets can also be used to create layouts that are responsive in Flutter, using percentages instead of hardcoded values.
5. Aspect Ratio Widget
Aspect Ratio is a way to measure a child based on a specific aspect ratio. When developing an app, the size isn't important. However, you must consider the aspect ratio. AspectRatio allows you to size your child's values according to their aspect ratio. Flutter's responsive design is made possible by this.
6. Boxes With Fractionally Sized Widgets
Fractionally sized Widgets can be helpful when the design requires relative dimensions. If, for example, a button occupies 80 percent of the width of an application, but only 10 percent is taken up by margin, this can be useful. This Fractionally Sized Box can be wrapped with a flexible widget that works well in either a column or row.
7. Custom MultiChild Class
A delegate is used by the widget CustomMultiChildLayout to determine the number, size, and placement of its children. This delegate determines the position of each child within the parent widget and defines the layout constraints. The size of the widget parent can be defined by the delegate, but not the size or its children.
When there are complex relationships between the placement and size of several widgets, CustomMultiChildLayout is an appropriate option. Pass a delegate that is a Single Child Layout Delegate. This argument is used to set up the layout and constraints of the child. Since Single Child Layout is abstract, you will need to create a Custom Class to extend it.
Responsive Design Goals:
- Larger audience: Apps that can run on multiple devices will reach a larger audience.
- Guide users to purchase: There must be an emotional element that pushes people to intuitively move on the user's path. It's simply thinking ahead of all user stories.
- Brand recognition: A beautiful, well-designed logo makes it easy for your customers to identify you among the competition.
- Better SEO: Responsive Web Design Enhances Search Engine Optimization through Stronger Backlinks and Better Bounce Rates.
- Online and offline browsing experiences improved: First impressions are everything. Stop your users from pinching and zooming their screens.
Mobile browsing has seen a dramatic increase in popularity. The best way to reach your users on multiple devices is with responsive design. It also ensures that the user experience will be smooth.
This is a convenient approach because it's easier to adapt the design for mobile devices (the space remaining can be filled with contents) to a larger display. We can make a simple idea complex. The reverse process can be more complex.
Why Must Using A Responsive Design In Flutter Be Done?
A Flutter app can be run on any device: mobile, tablet or TV. Mobile devices have screens of different sizes and resolutions. Users can also rotate their phone and do it frequently. Some developers disable this feature to lock the application into landscape or portrait mode. Is this a good idea or not? This might work in some situations, but if UX is important to you then Flutter's responsive design will be the better option.
Flutter Responsive App Examples
The following are some of the most popular responsive web applications made with Flutter.
- Google ads: is a mobile app that allows Google advertising campaigns to be managed directly from smartphones.
- Reflectly: is a personal journaling app powered by AI that helps users cope with stress and negative thinking. It combines cognitive behavioral therapy and positive psychology.
- Launching: is an app for smartphones that simplifies ordering food delivery. This is one of today's most popular food delivery apps.
- Watermania: is a lightweight application that monitors water using the Flutter framework. It helps consumers keep track of their daily water usage.
- Cryptograph: This Flutter application helps you monitor and track the latest updates for over 1600+ global crypto currencies such as Bitcoin. Ripple, Ethereum etc.
Conclusion
For a consistent UI, responsiveness is essential. These flutter packages allow you to accomplish a great deal in this area with only a few lines. You can use this method in a future application to complete it much easier. It is better to seek the help of a web design company who can make your app's interface responsive.
The flutter design templates should be consistent and user-friendly, regardless of the device. Websites that don't meet the needs of mobile devices are going extinct. Responsive design has the primary benefit of allowing websites to load quickly and without distortion, which results in a better browsing experience both online and off.
Companies can benefit from responsive applications because they offer greater versatility, lower costs for development and maintenance, higher search rankings and a simplified application monitoring process.
