Why
Should You Focus On Mobile - Centered Websites?
The
world is going to be smart & online with smart gadgets. Smart
gadgets have become the primary choice for people of any age group.
The question is how to make the right choice between three
configuration. However, there is a persistent struggle to make the
website look alluring on each gadget such as Smartphone, Tablets,
iPad etc with different screen sizes. It is an time period where
business has to aware whether they pick responsive or dynamic serving
design or separate URLs. In order to decide which one would work for
you then one has to understand between in three categories
(responsive, dynamic or separate URLs) that why your business needs a professional website & online presence?
Choosing
Among Responsive Design Or Various Website's Versions For Better
Mobile Experience
Option 1. Responsive Web Design
Serving
the same (HTML) code on the same URL and CSS media queries
determining how the content is rendered on the client's side.
Responsive
Designs allow designers to build websites that adapt to every screen
and one of the most empowering tools to be adopted in few year
before. Also, It provides “optimal viewing experience”- that
means easy reading & navigation with a minimum of scrolling, re
sizing & panning across different devices- from desktops to
mobile devices.
In
a nutshell, your website will automatically adjust on every device
without losing the overall feel. Without a doubt, it has been most
admired & accepted designs in the world of designs.
A very example of niche - Microsoft has been using responsive web
design.
Pros
- It is Google's recommended method and easier to maintain a single HTML/CSS code base
- Build once and run through all devices. Hence, this is the “single-code base”.
- Cost-effective or reduce maintenance cost
- Providing flexibility & control
Cons
- Firstly, The design could give the search engine rank bump since the design is recommended by Google. Unfortunately, it's not true always true since ranking system of Google is based on whether or not website delivering the right & qualitative information.
- Secondly, Implementation is difficult as compared to other websites and that could lead to ultra expenditures if it could not have been last few times.
Responsive
Designs- One Size Fits All
Simply,
it is the methodology, recommending the design plus implementation of
the website that responds to environment-based on the screen size,
orientation and O.S (Operating System) of their device. The framework
embraces flexible grids, layouts, images and smart use of CSS
(Cascading Style Sheets) media queries. When we switch one device to
another then the website automatically accommodates for the scripting
abilities, screen sizes & resolutions.
Responsive
Is Not A Crosscut
It
is quite easy to say to create responsive websites that will be less
expensive rather than creating an application. However, it is still
important to consider the costs, especially if existing site is not
responsive. The cost depends on both design and upgrades. Plus, it is
not about fitting on mobile screens but it is also about scenarios
ideas for mobiles & ensuring functionality in contexts. For
instance, if you are a restaurant holder then your website should
offer easy to access to directions. That means buttons are
touch-friendly and buttons are easy to use.
Option
2: Dynamic Serving
Dynamic
Serving serves different HTML for the same URL”. It means that -
depending on viewing device that you are using right on and you'll
get “different” website & overall experience. Here,
“different” means the website is designed specifically for each
device.
It
is a setup where the server responds with diverse HTML & CSS on
the same URL depending on the user agent responding page. It also
uses the same URL as above one but generates a diverse version of
HTML for different types of devices that is based on “what the
server knows about the user's browser”?
“Don't
Just build things differently, build different things”.
Pros
- Uses only one URL
- No need for redirection
Cons
- Need to crawl pages with diverse user agents
- User agent redirection is likely to mistakes
As
the name already explains that it serves different codes to each
device and on individual URLs. Simply, each URL has an equivalent
different URL serving mobile optimized content. Technically,
there are three ways having a mobile site on separate URLs: Mobile
Directory & Mobile Sub-domain or a separate sub domain TLD
(Top-level Domain).
- Mobile Directory (domain.com/mobile/)
- Mobile Sub-domain (mobile.domain.com)
Moreover,
the user agent direction is employed to redirect mobile users landing
on the version of desktop. Technically side, each webpage of the
desktop's version should have a rel=”alternate” tag pointing at
the mobile version in the <head> section. It would help search
engines bots realize that there is a mobile version & crawl it.
Check
out the example:
<link
rel=”alternate” media=”only screen and (max-width:640 px)”
href=”http://
m.example.com/red-widgets”>
For
instance, the most popular social networking website - Facebook has
been using this technique for so long.
Pros
- It is easier to implement.
- A mobile URL can serve mobile-detected content.
Cons
- Redirection is likely to be mistaken.
- It is a waste of crawling resources.
The
Conclusion
Responsive
web designs are the great way to give an industry a mobile
experience. But it should not be considered the single mobile
approach. Before making any decision, an industry should evaluate all
the other two configurations.
However,
responsive designs may dominate today's world of technology. But
among retailers, dynamic serving is most popular. Well, responsive
designs represent the industry's second-generation mobile solution.
Responsive has some pitfalls of its own and these shortcomings push
retailers towards dynamic serving solutions. When we talk about
featured phones & tablets then responsive does not support CSS
media queries. Hence, responsive cannot be used. However, two other
configurations are supported.
