Responsive web design and why you need it
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By Tristan -
on Thu Jan 19 2012
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As we enter an era of technological wizardry a plethora of web capable devices have exploded onto the market. Responsive web design has been around for a couple of years, though the need for responsive layouts hasn’t been as critical as it is today.
Responsive web design refers to the way in which a website is
designed and developed. Rather than the traditional way of
building a website from one standard design and fixed widths, a
responsive web design employs methods which allow a degree of
fluidity enabling the website to adapt to different screen
resolutions through the use of flexible layouts, fluid images and
media queries.
Why is this important? Mobile browsing is expected to overtake
desktop browsing within the next three to five years and with the
large number of new devices entering the market, the varying
resolutions mean that your website may not deliver the experience
you want. Some of the problems that users can encounter with static
layouts on mobile devices include, horizontal scrolling, decreased
readability of text and a decreased brand experience.
Previously companies have tried to tackle the mobile experience
with separate subdomains and distinct spaces away from the
non-mobile website experience. Responsive web design is a step
towards unifying the experience across all web devices for a more
optimal viewing experience for the user.
Pros:
- Search Engine Optimisation. SEO authority will not become
diluted as all link and bookmarks point to one URL.
- Less maintenance. You only have to update content for one
page.
- Better user experience. Each design designed to maximise the
users experience on targeted device.
- Social Media and sharing. Users will always get a similar
experience
- Centralised web analytics ands tracking
Cons:
- Load times. With mobile browsing, the user is loading
unnecessary content.
- Images. Mobile optimised images downloads the same sized images
as the desktop version, this increase load times.
- Implementation. Development takes time and money.
Responsive web design is not easy, which means it takes
longer and costs more.
Some great examples of responsive web design:
http://www.anderssonwise.com/
http://foodsense.is/
http://www.bostonglobe.com/
http://interim.it/
http://us.illyissimo.com/
If you're interested in responsive design for your website, talk to us. And
watch this space, we've got some great examples in the works!
Image sourced from Boost Inspiration
design mobile