Responsive Website. What is it and why do I need it?

With mobile usage skyrocketing it is now, more than ever, extremely important to have a website that can conform to mobile devices. That’s where responsive website design and development comes into play. A responsive website adjusts to mobile phones, pads, tablets, desktop computers, and high definition monitors. It covers all devices that web browsing can be performed on. Responsive design is one fluid framework that adjusts itself based on screen resolution.

As of June 2012 responsive frameworks have become the recommended industry practice. This is something that is relatively new to the word of websites. This means your investment on your new responsive website will have a longer shelf life than that of a standard website. It is said that by 2014 mobile web usage will surpass desktop web usage. This is only a couple years away. It is also said that 95% of all mobile devices are used to browse the web. The new Windows 8 platform is based on a responsive framework and with the release of their new laptop that turns into a pad responsive design isn’t going to be going anywhere anytime fast.

There are many benefits other than the functionality of a responsive website as well. The main benefit is marketing of your website. Responsive design helps you get the most out of your website but allowing it to be indexed by Google under one URL. For example if you have a separate mobile site and your regular desktop site Google has to now index two different sets of content on two different websites. Responsive design eliminates this. Also, you save yourself money by only having to invest in one website instead of multiple mobile sites. In addition to this, you only have to gear your marketing efforts towards one website. It is also easier for people to share and link to one website URL instead of different mobile versions of your website.

A responsive website retains the look and feel of your website through out all devices it is being viewed on. This is important for consistency and branding of your company. A regular site being viewed on a mobile device is very hard to use. You have to zoom in to read the text and click on the links. Users have to pan from side to side to access all the information. A responsive website eliminates this and is geared towards optimal user experience across all devices.

Contact us today to learn more about responsive websites and how they can benefit your company!

If you want to see some responsive websites in action here are some great examples:
www.mediaqueri.es
Smashing Magazine
Microsoft
Boston Globe

If you want to check out your site on a mobile device and you dont have you can use these great simulators here:
(iPhone) www.testiphone.com
(iPad) www.alexw.me/ipad2

Image from http://johnpolacek.github.com/