Opportunities and Challenges of Responsive Design
Web Designer Depot takes a look at the brilliances of what you can achieve with responsive design while at the same time being up front with the challenges that you’re also bound to face.
Opportunities
The opportunities they review include
- Low maintenance
- Brand Consistency
- Usability
- No redirections (ackk)
- Load times
To be honest I think that Usability and Load times would fall under some of the challenges for responsive web design. Load times are the most overlooked part of responsive design builds that I’ve seen mainly due to a desktop first approach.
Challenges
The challenges that web design depot have outlined include
- Development time
- Different devices remain different
- Different devices off different interactions
- Limited support of media queries
- Scalable images lose details
- Navigation menus
Go and check out the article for more details.
In August 2011 7.12% of all website hits worldwide came from a handheld mobile device. By August 2012, that figure had risen to 11.78%.
We can literally watch as tablets and smartphones become our default choice for connecting to the internet. People have long gotten used to the web as an essential part of their lives, not willing to live another day, even another moment without being constantly connected.This shift away from desktop to mobile requires web designers to refocus. Not necessarily away from desktop design, but certainly towards mobile design. There are several ways to approach a mobile web presence, such as a separate mobile site, or a mobile app. The most recent and increasingly popular approach is responsive web design.
An excerpt from Opportunities and Challenges of Responsive Design
