Responsive Web Design - Beauty or the Beast?

We are sure you have heard of 'responsive web design' by now. It was the real explosion of the latest 'must have' in 2011 (apart from the obvious HTML5 / CSS3 ascent to prominence). So just what is it?

What is Responsive Web Design?

Responsive web design is, well, exactly that. It does exactly what it says on the proverbial tin. It responds.

Web designers have long been creating mobile versions of websites after the boom of mobile web devices such as the tablets like the iPad and smartphones such as iPhones and Blackberry's.

Responsive web design is a combat to needing to produce multiple versions of websites, whereby the site produced can detect what size of browser your user is operating and change its display dependent upon that browser. Below is a brilliant example by Food Sense.

There are three important elements to this new form ofweb design which are :

• Flexible Layouts
• Flexible Images
• Media Queries

These three features function in cohesion to allow the content to respond and change. We are not going to look at the technical side in too much depth though, but more the impact that it will have on web design, the pro's and con's and the best way forward for your business.

What should I do?

The first question anyone considering investing in a responsive website is; 'Do I really need it?'

If you have an existing website, particularly a professional website from a web design agency, you should have access to Google Analytics. This should be your first point of reference. How many people are accessing your website using mobile devices? What screen sizes are they using? If a good percentage of your visitors are using your site from mobile devices, then obviously it is wise to invest in optimising your website to benefit your users. However if less than 10% of people are using this method, then perhaps you need to concentrate on other investments.

You should also consider how much it will cost.

Responsive web design might only use one website as opposed to website with varying versions for different platforms, but this does not make them cheaper. There is more work involved in creating mockups of different sizes, alternating styles and controlling image sizes. It could be that you end up paying more for something that you don't really need.

How is it going to effect web design?

Designs will become cleaner and more simple. The less elements to a website will mean that design will be easier to simplify and look more consistent over the various versions as the screen size shrinks.

The design of course will be dependent on the designer and agency that you use. There is nothing to stop ambitious designers from pushing the boundaries with full versions of sites and limiting the choices and display of the mobile versions. Examples like this are already available to brilliant effect. But expect less experienced designers to start with a mobile version and build up. This can dramatically limit the creativity of the design.

Conclusion

Responsive web design is no doubt an excellent addition to your armoury as a business, as long as it is right for your business! Not everyone is going to benefit from it and over the coming months there are sure to be some responsive web design horror stories that start appearing. But that said, as long as it is planned, designed and executed properly, we believe it is going to be requested by clients more and more in the future as it becomes more mainstream.