Responsive Web Design: What Is It and How Does It Affect my Website Development Strategy?

Responsive web design is a fairly new concept in the world of website development and design that is fast becoming a necessity in the ever-changing mobile world. With a variety of tablet, smart phone, laptop and desktop screen sizes, it is important that you utilize a website development plan and strategy that emphasizes one design that will adapt to each of these screen sizes, for a better user experience and interface.

What is Responsive Web Design?

Responsive web design is an approach to web page creation using flexible layouts, images and style sheets so that the viewer of the website is able to see a correct layout of a website without having to “pinch” their fingers in and out. Using the x and y coordinates on a grid of a page and mathematical percentages for images instead of the more traditional fixed-width parameters, designers and developers can create a more fluid design that can adapt to a wide range of displays.

Responsive Web Design and Website Development

Companies and businesses today need to consider responsive web design as an intricate piece of their website development strategy. With over mobile internet usage rising and fewer people using desktop computers to view webpages, it is important that you create a website that will not only be easy to read on a Apple iPhone, but also easily viewed on a Microsoft Surface or Android-powered tablet. Failure to do so could lead to poor customer experiences on a variety of pages on your website. Take for instance a blog page or an e-commerce page showing images of your products, using your old website development and design strategy you create a page that can be viewed perfectly on a desktop or laptop, but users on a mobile tablet or smart phone, will need to “pinch in and out or swipe their finger every few seconds in order to read a story or see a new product.

Responsive Web Design Helps Save Time

Not only will customers appreciate a website that utilizes a responsive web design, but the developers who created will also. Responsive web design utilizes multiple style sheets for the same web page, thereby repurposing HTML code, whereas a traditional website and mobile website will need to have two different types of code to be written for the website layouts, often from scratch. What would you rather choose, a house that has a sturdy frame and only needs to have a few things done to it in order to become your dream home or start with a blank piece of land and work your way up to a home?

With over half of the U.S. population owning a smart phones, it is now time for businesses and companies to consider how their websites are viewed on mobile devices and whether or not it is time to rework their website development strategy and add in responsive web design. Next time you are viewing your business’ website on your tablet or smart phone, take some time and look at the design and layout and ask yourself if it may be time to redesign your website.