Good web design is the difference between you sitting at a table in front of one of many internet-generated highly qualified sales leads and you simply boasting a Phoenix SEO campaign generated high traffic volume—that offers few real business benefits.
An increasingly popular way to build a website is with a responsive web design, and it isn’t what you think.
The traditional definition of the word responsive vs. a responsive website
When you hear the word “responsive,” snappy images wrought by the traditional definition of the word—“quick to react or respond,” according to Webster—appear in your mind. So naturally, you would be inclined to think that a responsive web design is one that reacts quickly to mouse clicks and touch screen gestures. This, however, has little to do with what a responsive web design is all about.
A responsive web design is one that can adapt to any device, regardless of the screen size, aspect ratio, operating system or web browser used. The premise behind this is that there are so many different devices out there (and growing) that trying to prepare your website for them individually is an impossibility.
How does a responsive web design work?
Simply speaking, a responsive web design works via flexible grid that can stretch to any screen size or aspect ratio without destroying the integrity of the site’s design.
Why does it matter if my website is responsive or not?
As we mentioned above, there are countless internet capable devices out there, and all of them are very different. Thanks to inventions such as smartglasses, smartwatches and smart TVs, this list is quickly growing. As such, you need your Phoenix web design company to implement a web design solution that is compatible with all devices.
Your website should be able to d this without sacrificing features, especially since people are increasingly spoiled by what technology can do for them.
Can’t I just have a mobile version of my website?
No. As we mentioned above, you shouldn’t sacrifice invaluable features just to make sure that your website works on an iPhone. Your Phoenix web design company can make this mandate a reality with a responsive web design, since it is build to work with the exact same array of features across all devices.
I already have a website. Do I have to start a new site from scratch to have a responsive design?
Not exactly. You will have to have your Phoenix web design company rebuild your website, but its relatively easy method of implementation means that your newly redesigned responsive website will be up and running in no time.
Are there any drawbacks of a responsive web design?
Even in this era of technological supremacy, nothing is perfect. Everything has advantages and disadvantages, and responsive web design is no exception to this rule. Here are a couple of its drawbacks:
Relatively slow speeds
Ironically, the biggest drawback to a responsive web design is its relative lack of responsiveness. That isn’t to say that a responsive web design is slow and clunky. It just isn’t as fast as other new forms of web design, such as adaptive web design.
This is due to the fact that one element of responsive web design does not adapt to meet the needs if the device that the site is being viewed on.
For example, if you (for some strange reason) ask your Phoenix web design company to upload a full-sized, color 20 megapixel photograph onto your website, your responsive website will fully load that image. While this may be okay for laptops attached to a zippy home Wi-Fi network, a mobile phone that is pulling data from a relatively slow cellular network will take longer to load this one image, thereby increasing your load time as a whole. While this is an extreme example, it highlights the biggest drawback of responsive wen design.
Difficult to test
It can also be difficult to properly test a responsive web design, since it is supposed to work on a myriad of devices, not just the ones that your Phoenix web design company tests it on. As a result, your Phoenix web design company will have to do some guesswork regarding how your site will operate on certain devices.
Conclusion
Despite is drawbacks, responsive web design is poised to take over website building for the foreseeable future. Contact your Phoenix web design company to learn more.