A “responsive website” —or, “responsive web design”— is simply a website the responds correctly when accessed on a mobile device like a phone or an iPad.
Why is this so important? Well, first, let’s simply look at the numbers. According to Mashable, 17.4% of all global web traffic comes from mobile devices. So, that means that nearly one fifth of all traffic coming to your site is on a phone or some other mobile device. This number has increased dramatically over the course of the past several years and is important for designers to remember: if your site doesn’t respond well on a mobile device, you’re probably going to lose 17.4% of your web traffic.
Now that we understand the numbers, let’s think about a couple of key aspects to a responsive website. The first is probably adjustable screen resolutions. Not everyone is accessing the web with an iPhone, and different devices are popping up nearly every day with different sized screens. So, websites need to be designed to adapt to this trend.
Another key aspect is the idea of flexible images: if your homepage has a landscape image, it’s going to need to be just as brilliant and clear on somebody’s Android, too. The Filament Group has a great “responsive images” test that works to make images flexible for any device.
Some other things to think about with responsive websites is touchscreens vs. cursors—some people are going to be clicking on links with their thumbs and others with a mouse. The importance of a responsive website increases day to day. Everything has to be flexible with responsive websites, and there’s no better time to start increasing flexibility than now.
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