Progressive enhancement

[8] Specific Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) techniques pertaining to flexibility of the page layout accommodating different screen resolutions is the concept associated with responsive web design approach.

[9] Google has encouraged the adoption of progressive enhancement to help "our systems (and a wider range of browsers) see usable content and basic functionality when certain web design features are not yet supported".

[12] In progressive enhancement the strategy is deliberately reversed: The web content is created with a markup document, geared towards the lowest common denominator of browser software functionality.

[8] These features forced publishers to choose between adopting a new disruptive technologies or allowing content to remain accessible to audiences that used other browsers, a dilemma between design and compatibility.

[citation needed] The progressive enhancement strategy consists of the following core principles:[8] Web pages created according to the principles of progressive enhancement are by their nature more accessible,[27] backwards compatible,[6] and outreaching, because the strategy demands that basic content always be available, not obstructed by commonly unsupported or scripting that may be easily disabled, unsupported (e.g. by text-based web browsers), or blocked on computers in sensitive environments.

[27][30] Some skeptics, such as Garret Dimon, have expressed their concern that progressive enhancement is not workable in situations that rely heavily on JavaScript to achieve certain user interface presentations or behaviors.

[34] Designers Douglas Bowman and Bob Stein expressed doubts concerning the principle of the separation of content and presentation in absolute terms, pushing instead for a realistic recognition that the two are inextricably linked.