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January 5, 20266 min readSolve responsive design:

Solve responsive design: Build mobile-friendly UI With Replay AI for UI Apps

R
Replay Team
Developer Advocates

TL;DR: Replay uses video analysis to reconstruct responsive, mobile-friendly UI components, eliminating the guesswork and manual adjustments typically associated with achieving cross-device compatibility.

Solve Responsive Design: Build Mobile-Friendly UI With Replay AI#

Responsive design is the cornerstone of modern web development. Users expect a seamless experience across desktops, tablets, and smartphones. Achieving this, however, can be a complex and time-consuming process, often involving endless media queries and frustrating debugging sessions. Screenshot-to-code tools offer a partial solution, but they fail to capture the dynamic behavior that defines a truly responsive UI.

Replay offers a novel approach: behavior-driven reconstruction. By analyzing video recordings of user interactions, Replay understands the intent behind the design, enabling it to generate responsive code that adapts intelligently to different screen sizes.

The Problem with Traditional Responsive Design#

Traditional responsive design relies heavily on manual coding and testing. Developers typically start with a desktop layout and then painstakingly adjust it for smaller screens using CSS media queries. This process is:

  • Time-consuming: Manually writing and testing media queries is a tedious and repetitive task.
  • Error-prone: It's easy to miss edge cases and create layouts that break on certain devices.
  • Limited in scope: Media queries only address screen size, ignoring other factors like touch input and device orientation.

Screenshot-to-code tools automate part of the process, but they only capture the static appearance of the UI. They don't understand how the UI responds to user interactions or how it adapts to different contexts.

Replay's Behavior-Driven Reconstruction#

Replay takes a different approach. It analyzes video recordings of user interactions to understand the behavior of the UI. This allows it to generate responsive code that accurately reflects the intended design, even on devices with vastly different screen sizes and input methods.

Here's how it works:

  1. Record: Capture a video of yourself interacting with the UI you want to reconstruct. This could be a demo of an existing application, a prototype, or even a hand-drawn mockup.
  2. Analyze: Upload the video to Replay. Our AI engine analyzes the video to identify UI elements, user interactions, and the relationships between them.
  3. Reconstruct: Replay generates clean, responsive code that accurately reflects the behavior of the UI in the video. This code can be easily integrated into your existing projects.

Key Features for Responsive Design#

Replay offers several features that are specifically designed to simplify responsive design:

  • Multi-page generation: Replay can analyze videos that span multiple pages or screens, allowing you to reconstruct entire user flows.
  • Style injection: Replay automatically infers the styles needed to create a visually appealing UI, saving you time and effort.
  • Product Flow maps: Replay visualizes the user flow from the video, providing a clear understanding of the application's structure and navigation.

Replay vs. Other UI Generation Tools#

Let's compare Replay to other popular UI generation tools:

FeatureScreenshot-to-Codev0.devReplay
Video Input
Behavior AnalysisPartial (Prompt-based)
Multi-Page GenerationLimitedLimited
Responsive CodeBasicBasicAdvanced
Supabase Integration
Style InjectionBasicAdvancedAdvanced

📝 Note: While v0.dev uses generative AI and can produce complex UIs, it relies on text prompts. Replay uses video as the source of truth, understanding user intent and behavior directly.

Building a Responsive Navigation Bar with Replay#

Let's walk through a practical example: building a responsive navigation bar using Replay.

Step 1: Record the Navigation Bar#

Record a video of yourself interacting with the navigation bar on a desktop screen. Show how the menu items collapse into a hamburger menu on smaller screens.

💡 Pro Tip: Ensure the video is clear and well-lit. Clearly demonstrate the different states of the navigation bar (expanded and collapsed).

Step 2: Upload and Analyze#

Upload the video to Replay. The AI engine will analyze the video and identify the navigation bar elements, the hamburger menu, and the transitions between them.

Step 3: Review and Refine#

Review the generated code. Replay will generate HTML, CSS, and JavaScript code that implements the responsive navigation bar.

Step 4: Integrate and Customize#

Integrate the generated code into your project. You can customize the styles and behavior of the navigation bar to match your specific requirements.

Here's a snippet of the generated code (example):

html
<nav class="navbar"> <div class="navbar-brand"> <a href="#">My App</a> </div> <ul class="navbar-menu"> <li><a href="#">Home</a></li> <li><a href="#">About</a></li> <li><a href="#">Services</a></li> <li><a href="#">Contact</a></li> </ul> <button class="hamburger"> <span></span> <span></span> <span></span> </button> </nav>
css
.navbar { display: flex; justify-content: space-between; align-items: center; padding: 1rem; } .navbar-menu { display: flex; list-style: none; margin: 0; padding: 0; } .navbar-menu li { margin-left: 1rem; } .hamburger { display: none; background: none; border: none; cursor: pointer; } @media (max-width: 768px) { .navbar-menu { display: none; } .hamburger { display: block; } }
javascript
const hamburger = document.querySelector('.hamburger'); const navbarMenu = document.querySelector('.navbar-menu'); hamburger.addEventListener('click', () => { navbarMenu.classList.toggle('active'); });

⚠️ Warning: The generated code may require some adjustments to perfectly match your design. Replay provides a solid foundation, but you may need to fine-tune the styles and behavior.

Benefits of Using Replay for Responsive Design#

  • Faster Development: Replay automates the process of creating responsive UI components, saving you significant time and effort.
  • Improved Accuracy: By analyzing video recordings, Replay accurately captures the intended behavior of the UI, reducing the risk of errors and inconsistencies.
  • Enhanced User Experience: Replay helps you create responsive UIs that adapt seamlessly to different devices, providing a consistent and enjoyable user experience.
  • Reduced Maintenance: Responsive code generated by Replay is easier to maintain and update than manually written code.

Frequently Asked Questions#

Is Replay free to use?#

Replay offers a free tier with limited usage. Paid plans are available for users who need more advanced features and higher usage limits. Check the Replay pricing page for the most up-to-date information.

How is Replay different from v0.dev?#

While both Replay and v0.dev leverage AI to generate UI code, they differ significantly in their approach. v0.dev relies on text prompts to describe the desired UI, while Replay analyzes video recordings of user interactions. This allows Replay to capture the dynamic behavior of the UI, resulting in more accurate and responsive code. Additionally, Replay focuses on reconstructing existing UIs, whereas v0.dev is more geared towards generating new UIs from scratch.

Can Replay handle complex animations and transitions?#

Yes, Replay can analyze and reconstruct complex animations and transitions. However, the accuracy of the reconstruction depends on the clarity and quality of the video recording. Ensure that the animations and transitions are clearly visible in the video.

What frameworks and libraries does Replay support?#

Replay supports a wide range of popular frameworks and libraries, including React, Angular, Vue.js, and more. The generated code can be easily integrated into projects that use these frameworks.


Ready to try behavior-driven code generation? Get started with Replay - transform any video into working code in seconds.

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