Today I wanted to go over a prototype I’ve been working on with a client. Normally I prefer doing that in person but today was more like a quick status update and arranging a meeting would have been a bit too much. Instead I decided to pick up the phone.

The thing is: if I show a prototype to clients I’m pretty much in control. Sure, they will need to test it for themselves, but I can get my points across more easily if I guide them through my thought process. That usually involves me switching viewport sizes in the browser and explaining my approach.

Today I wanted to do it on the phone, so I needed a way for the client to access the prototype and very easily switch viewport sizes. There are some services out there that let you enter a URL and then show a preview of your site in various different viewport sizes, but none of them really suited my needs.

Then I thought about what would be necessary to build such a tool myself and I realised that it shouldn’t be too hard. So that’s what I decided to do because I think this situation will come up again. And that’s what I learnt today.