Flexible websites for mobile devices
The number of website visits from mobile devices (smartphones, tablets) is rising rapidly. However, websites designed for use on PCs are often less suitable for mobile devices.
Limited user-friendly navigation and a display that does not correspond to that of the original website on smaller displays impair the user experience. This is why a growing number of companies are deciding to optimize their website for mobile devices - either with a slimmed-down mobile website or by using responsive design.
Online stores, tourism companies and event and trade fair organizers now offer visitors with mobile devices a website optimized for the technology with reduced content. There is no question that such a website increases user-friendliness. However, it should be noted that more and more consumers are surfing the Internet exclusively with mobile devices. The question therefore increasingly arises as to whether it makes sense to withhold information from mobile device users on the page optimized for them under the "pretext" of reducing complexity.
Responsive web design as an alternative to mobile websites
Anyone publishing a new website today should use responsive web design to ensure that it can be used equally on all devices (PC, laptop, smartphones, tablets) and enables optimal operation and presentation of the content. Responsive web design is a layout structure that adapts to the resolution and orientation (portrait and landscape format) of the device used to access the website. This layout technology ensures that the screen resolution of the mobile device used is taken into account and that content and navigation elements are displayed accordingly. This enables a flexible layout without a fixed grid, the absence of fixed font sizes and predefined image sizes.
Luke Wroblewski, the pioneer of responsive web design and author of the book "Mobile First", goes one step further and recommends developing the design of the website from scratch on the basis of mobile devices with their small (touch) displays. The trend is clearly moving towards Internet use on mobile devices. The implementation of the website with Responsive Web Design is more expensive, but enables an optimal user experience on all devices. When assessing the costs, it should be noted that this makes a special mobile website obsolete. Another argument in favour of responsive web design is that Google obviously rewards websites that are optimized for mobile devices with better positions in the search results.
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