Responsive design for a better web presence

Responsive design is today's best practice in web design. Instead of having to design a separate, stripped-down mobile site for viewing on a mobile device-- with a separate look, a separate content management system (and a separate price)-- today's websites are being designed to be flexible and effortlessly bendable to any viewing platform whether it is mobile, desktop or anywhere in between.

It's like having a business suit that can also be a swimsuit - according to Applied Art's web designer and developer Leon Resh.

How does it work? Websites built with responsive design include code that tells the browser to detect the resolution and screen size of the device it's being viewed on. The website content then aligns itself to the parameters of that device. The result is a better user experience, which leads to increased sales by mobile and tablet users.

Studies show that retail sites that switch to responsive design can see an uptick in online sales - sometimes dramatically. Users get the content they want in a way that's optimized for the device they're using, which lowers the barriers that can be a problem on small screens. Mobile usage is skyrocketing. Responsive design ensures that thoughtfully placed typography, images and video scale to the device instead of ending up a mishmash of information. And since your website is often the first impression people will have of your business, it's important that it looks good on all devices and screens.

Another aspect of responsive design that not many people are considering is that we can design for the opposite direction as well. In the past a design would usually max out at 960 pixels wide. But with today's higher and higher resolution displays, we can make use of the extra screen real estate with real content and not just a background.

Alex Keller, our other web guru and designer continues: A couple of years ago when browsers started supporting responsive design it allowed us to design for large HD screens on down to mobile devices. Gave us more flexibility to tailor the page content to a users specific screen size.