Mobile Website Design
What’s the Best Solution for You?
There’s no getting around it. If you want to be successful online, your online content must be optimized to present well in front of mobile device users. More and more companies and website designers are taking on a “mobile first” mentality when it comes to presenting their content online. For years now, the vast majority of individuals accessing the Internet via smartphones and other mobile gadgetry have had to settle for mediocre renderings of web designs created for the desktop experience. When these users visit a website via a mobile browser, more often than not, the mobile browser will assume that they’re viewing a website designed for the desktop experience and that the user would like to see all of it, not just the top left corner. The devices therefore set the viewport width and force everything into the device’s small display. This forces those users to zoom into areas they would like to see more clearly.
Although mobile website design and responsive web design principles are nothing new, many designers and companies have not put much importance on making the transition from the old to the new. That time is coming to an end. More and more companies and website designers are taking on a “mobile first” mentality when it comes to presenting their content online. Those who fail to follow suit will find their customers slipping away to more accommodating online providers.
“But I Already Have a Website that Works Just Fine!”
Well, if that’s the case, the obvious solution would be to have a completely separate and distinct mobile website design created to present your content to mobile users. There are several advantages to this solution:
- Stand-Alone mobile website design solutions typically load much faster than responsive web design solutions
- Your existing large-scale website can be left as is
- A stand-alone mobile website design is usually less expensive than designing a responsive website
But What About Responsive Website Design Solutions?
Although, on average, responsive websites that dynamically alter content presentation and layout by detecting viewport size tend to load slower on mobile devices than a mobile website design would, responsive designs have a greater sense of continuity in presentation and design throughout the entire span of various screen sizes and resolutions. Instead of providing two, static presentation schemes, where one design inevitably comes across as an add-on or an afterthought, a fully-responsive web design looks well thought out and uniform across all devices.
As processor speeds and mobile devices become more and more technologically advanced, and existing methods of data transfer become more and more optimized, the differences in load time performance between stand-alone mobile website design solutions and responsive web design solutions will begin to diminish. Then, I suppose, the choice will most likely become primarily influenced by industry and customer demographics. Either way, it’s time to take action and pick a mobile website design solution that’s both ideal for you and your for customers.
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