Today, the importance of correct display of a website on different devices cannot be overestimated. Adaptive design should be developed when creating a website at the stage of prototyping and website design . Thanks to its responsive design, the site is easy to use on a device with any screen resolution. There are 3 types of this approach:

  • Rubber design. Page elements (blocks, font, images) change size depending on the resolution and device type. It does not provide full control over the appearance of the resource. This is the optimal solution for simple websites and landing pages;

  • Adaptive design. Separate blocks of rules are written for the most common resolutions and screens (from mobile to 4K TVs). Different behaviour of elements is formed - suitable images are loaded (they may be different), the appearance of the menu changes. Product cards are lined up 4, 3 or 1 per screen width. The complexity of development is due to the need to provide for the behaviour of a large number of permissions. The appearance of the page on atypical devices may not correspond to the designer’s ideas;

  • Responsive design. Combines flexible and adaptive layout. Enables faster development. Provides a medium level of control over appearance.

All responsive design options require significant development time. Anyone planning to use it should ask themselves the following questions:

  • Does your website need responsive design?

     

  • Perhaps it would be more rational to pay for the development of a separate mobile version?

     

  • Is it worth the extra expense to improve UX?

We will answer them in order.

Who doesn't need responsive design?

According to statistics, the number of mobile devices used to make purchases, search for information and other actions on the Internet is steadily growing. Therefore, good display on small screens is the key to obtaining a significant part of the target audience for most sites.

The resource owner needs to focus on the target audience. If many users access from a desktop, there is no point in adapting the resource for small screens. The extra waste of money and time will not pay off. An example is sites for representatives of certain professions, intended exclusively for work purposes. A regular online publication for accountants with up-to-date forms and data is unlikely to be used from a mobile phone or tablet.

Why doesn't the mobile version contribute to promotion?

The previous solution to responsive design was the mobile version of websites. In fact, this is a separate resource with simplified layout, content and other features.

What's bad about it:

  • The resolution of modern mobile devices is growing. It has caught up with desktops. A mobile version created without these parameters in mind may look bad;

     

  • mobile version is a separate website. Therefore, the traffic will be divided into 2 streams, which will worsen the overall ranking indicators;

     

  • when updating and supporting, you have to do 2 times more work. This means that implementation will be more expensive;

     

  • increase in refusals. Limited functionality may be the reason to switch from mobile to desktop version. For a search engine, this means “failure”, that is, a decrease in ranking;

     

  • desktop sites without mobile friendly are displayed in lower positions in Google and Yandex results.

Mobile website development – choosing social networks and large resources with high traffic and sufficient funds to support both versions.

Is it worth paying more to improve the user experience?

A responsive website requires writing a significant amount of code. That's why it costs more. Wherein:

  • it will be more convenient for users to use it;

     

  • loading time will be reduced. The hardest part is images and videos. In responsive design, their weight will vary at different resolutions;

     

  • All features of the desktop application are available. Maintaining continuity of the experience will help retain the user. If he is comfortable using the site on a mobile device, there will be no problems with the desktop version either.

A well-tailored design is easier to maintain than separate desktop and mobile versions. If you plan to promote a resource that offers content for users of all types of devices, you definitely need to adapt it.