Every day, more people are relying on mobile devices for various tasks, especially when going online. Many enjoy staying busy while traveling, and mobile devices that connect to the internet allow for this. However, a drawback of these devices is that not all websites display correctly. This is only possible if they are designed responsively to work well on all internet-enabled devices. That’s why responsive web design is essential today.
Creating a responsive design for any website makes it easy to view on almost all internet-enabled devices. You can access it properly on desktop computers or laptops. Likewise, the website will display well on mobile devices like smartphones and tablets. This has greatly boosted the popularity of responsive web designs. However, as its popularity grows, many misconceptions about this type of web design have also appeared. Here’s a brief overview of some of the myths about responsive web design that have been debunked.
Myth 1## Responsive Design is Only for Mobile Devices
Well, it’s true that the concept of creating responsive design was driven by the emergence of internet-friendly mobile devices. However, that does not mean that this form of design is limited to the mobile devices only. The basic concept of a responsive design is to perfectly fit the device, which is being used to view the website. So, no matter whether you are using a desktop, a laptop, or a mobile device to view the website, a responsive web design should drive better user experience by appearing in perfect shape in all these platforms.
Myth 2## Responsive Design has a Negative Impact on the Site’s Typography
Well, this is probably one of the most common issues that are blamed on responsive web design. However, it is not entirely due to the responsive design. Usually, while creating a responsive web design, the designers and the programmers focus more on the responsive part – both the designing and programming aspects of it. Hence, little or no importance is imparted on selecting the fonts properly. This hampers the readability of the website and hence, the user-friendliness is compromised. However, this has got nothing to do directly with the process of responsive web design. Websites can be given a perfect look with absolutely impeccable font selection even while making them responsive.
Myth 3## Content can’t be Read Properly in Responsive Websites
Although this is actually absurd, this myth is also attached to the concept of responsive web designs. The concept of responsive websites came into being with the view of ensuring that the users can have a better experience. This form of web design is meant to create sites that can be viewed flawlessly across a wide range of devices. So, it is quite obvious that the activity of reading the content will not be obstructed even when a website is given a responsive design. In fact, embedded content can be excellently used in responsive web design.
Myth 4## Responsive Websites are Heavier and So, Slower
It’s not the fault in the methodology, but in implementation. This can be proved by showing a number of websites, which have used responsive web design, but still loads pretty fast. So, it is the designer who has to implement the responsive form of web design in a prudent manner. The pages of the website should be designed with lighter materials to ensure that they do not take a lot of time to load. Otherwise, it might result in higher bounce rates, as the visitors will go for other websites.
Myth 5## Only the Content Needs to be Repositioned for Responsive Design
Well, the name of the concept itself proves this to be a myth and not the truth. Responsiveness is more about web designing than just dealing with the content. So, it is important to ensure that the designing part is also implemented perfectly while making the responsive web designs. The content repositioning, however, is also extremely important in the process of turning a website responsive.
With the rising popularity of responsive web design, more myths are expected to gain ground. It is important that you are aware of these myths to debunk them and create responsive designs for websites in a more effective and efficient manner. This will not only help you design the website in the best possible manner, but will also do away with the chance of falling prey to the common mistakes that are driven by these myths.
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