Responsive Web Design Pro’s and Con’s

There’s a lot of articles recently being published that mention that responsive web design will never replace apps.  I’m not sure they will either but that’s pretty short sighted.  No matter what way a business decides to go it’s no surprise that mobile is growing exponentially.   According to Google everyday they are activating 1.3 million copies of Android on mobile and tablet devices.  That’s just Android.  Apple is cranking out phones and tablets as well.

So why or why not have a responsive web site?

Pros:

• Better user experience for web site visitors.  No one likes to side scroll.
• Consistent content across all platforms making it much easier to update one system and not multiple systems.
• Google publicly announced that responsive web design is preferred over adaptive.  We wouldn’t be surprised if search engine rankings will start to reflect this.
• Link sharing is much easier with responsive web sites.  No need to guess which device a friend might be using when sending them a link.
• New devices are being developed daily with different screen widths, resolutions, and displays.
• No need for server redirects for mobile, tablets, and desktops.

Cons:

• Takes longer and costs more to develop then a traditional non-responsive design.
• Load time isn’t scaled down for the device’s connection speed which is typically slower.
• Cross browser compatibility can be difficult.
• Analytics tracking are one unit for both desktop and mobile and not split into two different segments for reporting.

As you can see yourself we like responsive web design.  It’s good for visitors, businesses, and designers all around.  There’s certainly con’s but they are certainly out weighed when compared to all the pro’s that come with having a responsive web site.

Own a web site?  Check out your web site yourself to see if it’ll look good or if it’s responsive by resizing your current web browser (unless you’re on mobile).  As you drag in the sides of the browser the web site will realign things if the web site has been created to be responsive.  If it’s not responsive then it’ll just add scroll bars on the bottom of the browser to scroll left and right.