Inside Responsive Design: The Pros And Cons Of The Popular Mobile Strategy

Responsive design, a technology that stretches or shrinks Web pages to fit differently sized screens, has emerged as the most-often recommended manner of optimizing content for mobile devices. This dominance was cemented in mid-2012 when Google recommended responsive design as the best strategy for smartphone-optimized websites.

As the iPhone, Android phones, and iPad became bestselling consumer gadgets, businesses realized their Web presence needed to translate to those smaller screens. Otherwise, their websites would bear tell-tale signs of a business clueless to mobile: tiny text, tinier links, and a jumbled layout. They risked lost traffic and sales.

These days, responsive design is recommended as the gold standard. But as with most technologies in a multi-device world, it has disadvantages, and it's not right for every business, or every application.

In a $4 from BI Intelligence>$4, we describe what responsive design is and compare it to other mobile optimization tools, analyze responsive designs pros and cons, examine data and statistics that track responsive design adoption and performance across mobile, and evaluate whether dedicated mobile websites have their place, and detail the ramifications for HTML5 development.

To access the full report, sign up for a free trial of BI Intelligence today >>>>$4

Here's an overview of the main mobile optimization tools:

• Mobile apps: Particularly at the beginning of the mobile boom, when some believed apps would channel virtually all mobile activity, businesses rushed to create apps. $4. A great deal of e-commerce happens in the mobile Web browser, not in native apps. Not to mention: Apps are expensive. Apps are not the be-all, end-all for mobile.
• Dedicated mobile websites: Some usability gurus advocate for separate mobile sites that offer a stripped-down version of its content and carry their own Web address (often with the URL that looks something like this: m.website). $4
• Responsive design: In responsive design, $4. The website maintains the same Web address or URL regardless of what device it's seen on. In sum: The fluid layout means that content adapts to all form factors, even smart TVs - a fast-growing source of Web traffic.
• Responsive Design With Server-Side Support. This is a variant of responsive design. $4$4$4. This method solves some of responsive design's performance issues, but requires device detection. $4 It may deploy responsive elements across mobile, while keeping a more traditional fixed layout for the PC. It may even deliver customized experiences for certain device models (like a feature that only works on retina screens, etc.).

The report is full of charts and data that can be easily accessed, downloaded, and put to use.>$4