How to Design a Mobile Responsive Website
To build a mobile site or not to build a mobile site; this is a question at the forefront of many a discussion. There is, however, another option: responsive web design. When, why, and how should you go about designing a responsive website?
With mobile internet users set to surpass desktop internet users in the US by 2015, with tablets becoming more popular, and even with TV internet usage increasing, it’s important for companies to provide a great user experience for all their visitors no matter what device they’re on. How does responsive design help us do this? Well, by allowing us to create one website solution that is flexible for different screen widths. It uses flexible grids and clever styles to present the same content to a user, but displays that content in a format that suits the width of the device. Check out this beginner’s guide to responsive web design for a more detailed introduction.
Why should you design a responsive site?
There are many options to consider when a client asks for a mobile solution for their website, and the suitability of these options depend on the business requirements and budget; it’s also important to consider any existing solutions or sites they already have. Creating a responsive website isn’t a complete mobile strategy, and won’t answer every brief, but, especially if you are starting a website from scratch, you should consider it as a very serious option.
So why would you decide to create a website this way?
You’re starting from scratch
Developing a whole new website or web application is a challenging process. You won’t know if the site will be successful until it’s live and in the world, so creating a separate mobile site or a mobile app in tandem with a website project could be a big waste time and money. It’s more efficient to get your new site performing well, especially with the assistance of professionals who are adept at custom wordpress website design, before you create an additional mobile site or application.
You want to keep costs low
Solid responsive solutions require additional design and front-end development time, but doesn’t too heavily impact application development. It could take around 20-30 per cent longer to develop a responsive site, but it’s still faster than creating an additional mobile site or app. Developing a site this way also means that you only need to develop, manage, and maintain the one site, so it can reduce these costs too.
You want it to work even when new devices are released
A mobile site needs to be able to recognize the user’s device; when new devices are released, the site needs to be updated. As the responsive solution only recognizes the browser’s width, no new updates would need to be made. This means it’s much more future-proof and scalable.
