What responsive design is not

Default avatar.
January 04, 2013
What responsive design is not.

ThumbEvery year the world of web design gets a new catch phrase that trends on just about every discussion platform there is. Some time ago, responsive web design was a blip on the radar that picked up a massive amount of steam recently.

We all know why responsive web design is so important, with the influx of mobile devices designers need some way to present their sites so that it looks as good to a person on their smartphone as it does while sitting in front of a 27-inch monitor. Responsive design is just that, the technology that keeps things standard across multiple viewing formats.

As more and more designers turn to responsive design we start to see, and hear, more about what it is and what it can do for us; but what about the things that responsive design is not?

Wonkavision

A misconception is that the fluid grid of responsive design will display things as an exact replica across devices with varying screen real estate. This is just impossible.

To fit everything you see on that nice big monitor onto the screen of a smartphone, something’s got to give – and that’s content. When a site is displayed on a smaller screen there are times when certain content is hidden so that things fit. Usually this content is a image or graphic that would not look good on such a small screen anyways. Textual content shouldn’t get thrown out.

The ultimate time saver

CSS is a time saver. One quick change to a color code and thousands of pages could change in how they look.

Before responsive design, you would have to design a page many times over so that it would display properly on the device that accessed it. The fluid grid of responsive design aimed to fix that, and it does for the most part. However it draws a eerie similarity to another technology that promised to work over multiple platforms, Java. Java was billed as “write once, run everywhere” however it still had to be tested everywhere if you cared anything about quality assurance.

The same holds true for responsive design. You may only need to create a page once, but you need to test it on every device. This takes time.

Faster

A big crime when it comes to usability is long load times. People tend to grow frustrated when a site takes too long to load and many times leave before they even get a chance to see all the work you put into making a site look pretty.

I had mentioned earlier that in order to fit smaller screens content needs to be hidden sometimes – namely images. The problem is, those images still need to be downloaded from the server. They’re hidden, not forgotten.

Is responsive design worth it?

In a study done by the Pew Research Center, 60% of mobile device users would rather read news using their browser as opposed to reading it on an app. When it comes to textual content, people seem to always favor the browser over an app, so being able to display that content across different screens is a must.

As time goes on, improvements will be made to responsive design and the hurdles that were mentioned here will be long forgotten. For now, responsive design will just need to take these things into consideration, but at least you will know what the fine print says ahead of time.

Is responsive design living up to its promises? Is it seen as a 'magic bullet'? Let us know your views in the comments.

Featured image/thumbnail, inappropriate image via Shutterstock.

Jeff Orloff

Jeff is the content developer for a security company. He also writes about apps, security and just about anything else web related. You can see more from him at jeffreyorloff.com or follow him on twitter @jeorl.

Read Next

LimeWire Developer APIs Herald a New Era of AI Integration

Generative AI is a fascinating technology. Far from the design killer some people feared, it is an empowering and…

20 Best New Websites, March 2024

Welcome to our pick of sites for March. This month’s collection tends towards the simple and clean, which goes to show…

Exciting New Tools for Designers, March 2024

The fast-paced world of design never stops turning, and staying ahead of the curve is essential for creatives. As…

Web Tech Trends to Watch in 2024 and Beyond

It hardly seems possible given the radical transformations we’ve seen over the last few decades, but the web design…

6 Best AI Productivity Apps in 2024

There’s no escaping it: if you want to be successful, you need to be productive. The more you work, the more you…

3 Essential Design Trends, February 2024

From atypical typefaces to neutral colors to unusual user patterns, there are plenty of new website design trends to…

Surviving the Leap from College to Real-World Design

So, you’ve finished college and are ready to showcase your design skills to the world. This is a pivotal moment that…

20 Mind-Bending Illusions That Will Make You Question Reality

Mind-bending videos. Divisive Images. Eye-straining visuals. This list of optical illusions has it all. Join us as we…

15 Best New Fonts, February 2024

Welcome to February’s roundup of the best new fonts for designers. This month’s compilation includes some innovative…

The 10 Best WordPress Quiz Plugins in 2024

Whether it’s boosting your organic search visibility or collecting data for targeted email marketing campaigns, a great…

20 Best New Websites, February 2024

It’s almost Valentine’s Day, so this latest collection is a billet-doux celebrating the best of the web this month.

Everything You Need to Know About Image Formats In 2024

Always trying to walk the tightrope between image quality and file size? Looking to branch out from JPGs and PNGs this…