Translation article by Daniel Kling. In the article, the author describes the most common misconceptions of web designers regarding responsive design.
The article was translat with the kind permission of webdesignerdepot.com . The original text of the article (EN) can be found here: Common misconceptions about responsive design .
TIP: Czech book on building responsive websites .
I use various devices to access the internet on a daily basis, namely Macbook Pro, iMac, PC, iPad, iPhone, and even TV. It really bothers me when I come across websites that aren’t optimiz for larger displays or that I have to wait two minutes for them to load on my device.
We all welcom the concept of responsive (adaptive) design. Few people have reservations, and in fact the only convincing reminder that I heard again recently is the time requirement, which the client does not want to accept.
Let’s see if we can dispel some misconceptions.
Responsive design is for mobile
Yes, mobile websites are on the rise, and yes, they are the driving force behind responsive design, but there are other devices to consider when it comes to responsive design. For example, with the advent of so-call “retina” displays, users began to view web pages on a wide variety of devices with higher resolutions.
Try to consider other contexts when designing and developing responsive websites. You should know what device the user is working with – is he using a mobile device or is he at home in front of the TV? Where is the user locat? Standing in line at the grocery store or camping in the wild? Quality content is of no use to you if your site takes ten minutes to load for a user sitting on the beach sipping a margarita.
Content is important, but environment is something that is all around you and over which you have absolutely no control. And that is why the content of the pages should be able to adapt to the larger and smaller device resolutions. If you ne to it graphics, optimize text size, or improve performance, there are a number of tools available to you – don’t forget and use them.
Content is constantly being mov, so you ne to properly balance graphics, user nes and performance when creating a responsive design. And this does not only apply to mobile phones.
Responsive design doesn’t always work
I us to say that responsive design wouldn’t always work and that it was a case-by-case basis, but I’ve recently chang my mind. I believe that if you want to focus on the nes of the user in your work, you ne to have responsive design in mind from the very beginning of creating a website.
Websites with a fix width can be us on japan phone number data screens with a larger or smaller resolution, the decisive factor is the unrestrict accessibility of the website to anyone, regardless of the device or resolution us.
However, if you are designing websites in from links on other websites software, it is necessary to have something like a framework with breakpoints to work from, and I recommend that you create one yourself. Optimize site design according to content. You can find out which breakpoints will work best by first sketching a few sketches of the site cz lists and then starting to lay out the pixels in the software of your choice. Be careful to always work in the same grid when sketching and designing.