Flutter tips: how to create a responsive layout

Flutter tips Published on 03 May 2025

This Flutter tip illustrates how to create responsive layouts by building a custom ResponsiveLayout widget.

This widget uses Flutter's LayoutBuilder to access screen constraints (like maxWidth) and, based on predefined breakpoints, selects and renders a specific child widget tailored for that screen size (e.g., 'small', 'medium', 'large'). This allows developers to easily provide distinct user interfaces for different device types, such as phones, tablets, and larger screens, ensuring a better user experience across various form factors.

Here is a gist of the complete code

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is a dedicated ResponsiveLayout widget useful?

As Flutter is a cross-platform framework, it is essential to ensure that your app looks good on all devices. A dedicated ResponsiveLayout widget allows you to define breakpoints and render different layouts based on the screen size, ensuring a consistent and optimized user experience across various devices.

How does LayoutBuilder help in this approach?

LayoutBuilder is a Flutter widget that rebuilds its child whenever the parent's constraints change. In this ResponsiveLayout widget, it's used to obtain the BoxConstraints (specifically maxWidth) of the available space. The ResponsiveLayout then uses this maxWidth to determine which of the provided child widgets (small, medium, large) is most appropriate to render.

What are the benefits of using breakpoints?

Breakpoints allow developers to define specific screen sizes at which the layout should change. This is particularly useful in responsive design, as it enables the app to adapt its UI based on the device's screen size, ensuring that users have an optimal experience regardless of whether they are on a phone, tablet, or desktop.

Can I customize the breakpoints?

Yes! The breakpoints in the ResponsiveLayout widget can be customized to fit your design needs. You can define your own values for small, medium, and large breakpoints based on your target devices and user base.