The dark world of Responsive Design & Development
If you have managed to get past the subject line of this post then you are in for a treat. And you probably want to know a little bit more about what responsive design & development actually is. The smartphone & the tablet - responsive devices that have brought the internet to the palm of our hands wherever we are. Ok perhaps not the Mariana Trench (it is 10km deep below the ocean's surface after all). I digress. But now you are hooked on my little tale of responsiveness.
The internet is as in the eyes of those old enough to see its beginnings has come a long way. Actually in the last 2 years it has moved on dramatically. However don't you find having to pinch and zoom in order to view desktop only websites on responsive devices a little archaic? You are not alone. We at 3B have been using every expletive in the book in order to try and make sense of why websites like this are still being built (except for the one beginning with !! and ending with ?@*).
Still reading? Good. What then is Responsive Design & Development? Good question you ask. When designing and building websites, taking mobiles & tablets into consideration is a must. We build all of our websites with three breakpoints in mind. What this means that as a website is scaled down by the device’s browser so the website adapts in order to fit appropriately on the devices screen. Our breakpoints (simply put) then reflect the average desktop size, then down to the average tablet size and then one step further to the average smartphone size.
This is a lot more complex than it sounds. We have to consider how the user would want to use websites on responsive devices. Considerations include the user journey - so the way a user uses the menu and what their end goal is when browsing - we also consider that responsive devices now have retina quality screens. High pixel density. Meaning that design, imagery and logos all need to be high resolution to avoid ugly pixelation (and resultant loss of user trust. Basically you look cheap. In a bad way).
Social media - that buzzword we all use but tell our moms we don't so that we can keep our private lives separate from theirs. This isn’t another digression by the way - its use is another important consideration in that desktops and responsive devices treat certain elements separately. On a desktop version of a website featuring social sharing elements the website would simply open a new window when the social sharing button is clicked. Or play a youtube video in-page. But responsive development goes one better. It makes use of native apps to manage these dynamic elements. Facebook would open up and allow you to share more easily in app. Youtube videos will open up in your app allowing you to view in full screen making full use of your sexy retina device. The point here is that responsive design facilitates more effective user journeys and better use of that expensive, very light, and possibly bendable device in your hands.
So with that all said - the decision is not whether to have a responsive website, it's how to design and build it to give your visitors the best possible experience - and that is where our expertise can help you - get in touch & we'll show you how!
