The Pros and Cons of a Responsive Web
Responsive websites have become a common part the web recently. But is making sure that your website is responsive really the best thing to do? Here is a round up of the pros and cons of a responsive web:
Pros:
- Having one version of your website that works on every device is always going to be a benefit to any website owner. More importantly, it means that if any changes are required on the website, they are quick and easy to do as only one template will need to be changed in order to effect all devices.
- As screen sizes and resolutions change and develop - a separate version of the website will not need to be created in order to accommodate these changes as a responsive website will solve this problem automatically. This is a large time saver as screen sizes on different devices are constantly changing.
- The mobile first approach is very useful when it comes to designing for all devices. By building from mobile up we can easily combat some of the issues that come alongside having a responsive website.
CONS:
- If a large amount of elements on a website aren't needed for a mobile site and are hidden - the load time will still be the same as before they were hidden. This is one of the large downsides of responsive design as mobile internet is not yet the fastest and if a site takes an extremely long time to load - the viewer may end up closing the mobile browser.
- Although images can be re-sized in order to suit the mobile better - the full sized image will always be loaded. This again adds to the load time on the device. This may not effect websites that aren't entirely image based but for other websites that rely fully on images, a mobile version is probably a better solution than a responsive website.
CONCLUSION - IS RESPONSIVE WORTH IT?:
In conclusion, not all sites suit a responsive design and under no circumstance should a responsive design be created just to keep with the 'responsive' trend. The pros and cons of having a responsive website should always be thought about alongside the overall needs of the website. The uses of the site, who might use it and why and the amount of content needed on the site in browser in comparison to mobile should also be considered when thinking about making your website responsive or simply going for a mobile version.
I believe that although responsive websites are no doubt a good idea - they are not always necessary. More complex websites with members areas or a large amount of content should have a separate mobile or tablet site in order to save loading times and to ensure that everything works specifically for that one design. Large social networking websites such as Facebook and Twitter have not gone down the responsive route despite the fact that a large amount of traffic comes through mobile devices - so surely not all of our websites need to be responsive?