Mobile Web Design

Having a mobile website isn’t an option, it’s a necessity.

10 years ago when I first broke into the web development business, no one ever talked about mobile web design – now it seems it’s all anyone ever talks about. The birth of large screen smartphones and even larger tablets forced online marketers to adapt and adapt we did. Talk to any online marketer these days and they’ll tell you your website has to be responsive or mobile-ready.

Having a mobile web design to your website is crucial to providing your audience with a proper user experience across all their devices. More users are online using their mobile devices than ever before and ensuring your site not only loads quickly, but in a visually appealing will keep return visits high.

The difference between responsive and mobile-ready design.

There are generally two schools of thought on how to approach your mobile web design. The first and somewhat more dated way is to have a mobile-ready website. A mobile-ready website will load a uniquely designed website on smartphones anytime anyone visits your site. These sites are typically the “Coles Notes” to your larger desktop version and often don’t render well on tablets.

The second and more common mobile design is responsive. A responsive website will re-size and render your entire website (automatically through code) based on the size of the mobile device viewing it. Whether you’re viewing the website on a 10″ tablet or a 5″ phone, the website text, images and links will all be properly sized.

The answer to which type of design is right for you often comes down to your audience and your budget. The cost of a responsive design does tend to be a bit higher, however the benefits far outweigh those of a mobile-ready design.