We surf the web using a variety of devices. Smartphones, netbooks, tablets, and desktop PCs are some of the most common and each renders a website a little differently. Consider the screen on a mobile device compared to the display on a home theatre system. The pixel size and the aspect ratio are completely different, so how can the experience be the same?
The truth is, it can’t. What we do as website designers and developers is to try to offer a good experience on as many screen sizes as possible, and at this point in time, that means using Responsive Design.
Definition of Responsive Design
When a website is responsive, the layout and the content adjust to the size of the screen it is being presented on. Sometimes called fluid design because the layout changes to fit the space, responsive design changes automatically to fit the device being used. As the screen gets smaller or larger, or the device orientation changes, the layout adjusts to fit.
“Make Mine Mobile-Responsive”
A mobile-responsive design is not something that can be easily retrofitted. A site needs to be built this way from the beginning. If your site was not mobile-responsive from the start, then your best option is to have the site rebuilt.
If you have more questions about mobile-responsive design, please email us at [email protected] or call us at 518.392.0846.