Responsive Design: The New Web Standard

Responsive web design represents a completely new approach to web design, yet it is quickly becoming the new standard in web design and development. Although responsive design may be viewed by some as ‘trendy’, its evolution has much more to do with usability rather than a change in online marketing techniques.

Responsive websites adapt to the environment in which they’re being viewed, whether that be a desktop or laptop computer, tablet, mobile phone or other device. Regardless of the size of the screen or resolution, responsive content adjusts automatically for optimum usability, and responsive design in practice is becoming fundamentally a part of Accessibility and User Experience (UX).

Responsive design is becoming more of a necessity as the number of mobile devices, platforms, and browsers continues to grow – there are simply more means by which consumers need to interact with your site (and many more that may not even exist yet!)Investing in a responsive design requires a complete overhaul of your brand’s website.

Time, money, support, and performance are all considerations that must be made before committing. But while best practices are still forthcoming, many big brands and high traffic websites are already using responsive website design: Mashable, Microsoft, Starbucks and more.

Responsive design also eliminates the need for developing a separate mobile-friendly site. However, this might not be the best solution for some businesses. While a digital magazine would want to invest in responsive design because users are likely to visit their content on a daily basis while on-the-go, a typical small business might choose to design a mobile-friendly version of their site or micro-site that provides only basic, or the most relevant information. View liqui-site.com on your smartphone for an example of a mobile micro-site. Because responsive web design represents a systems-level change, responsive web design is the new standard.