With the growing
use of smartphones and other mobile devices everywhere, companies are
scrambling to take advantage of this medium in expanding their
business. Indeed, it has been found that smartphones can create an
almost instantaneous response from customers who come across an
advertisement for a product or service they are interested in.
While a business
can make use of various mobile apps, company websites are still
considered to be one of the most effective tools in marketing a
business; it's often the site people go to for an online transaction.
For this reason, IT specialists are trying to find the best way to
make websites accessible for mobile devices. One of the techniques
advocated by many IT practitioners, including Google, is responsive
web design (RWD).
The objective
behind RWD is to use the same website design, HTML, and URL for any
platform, whether a PC, smartphone, or tablet. This requires
adjusting a web page lay-out to fit the viewing area of the device.
Due to the consistency in the content and design, it helps to promote
branding and customer loyalty. It also makes sharing to the site
easier, as it will not require redirection to a mobile-dedicated
site.
However, one known
disadvantage of the RWD technique is a slower performance, as the web
page size is not sufficiently adjusted to allow for a faster
processing time using mobile Internet access. Some experts also say
mobile users may find navigation of RWD sites more difficult than
mobile dedicated sites.
