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The case for responsive web design

June 18, 2012 | Online Marketing

Last week, there was little surprise when Google announced responsive design as the company’s formal recommendation for mobile delivery. Responsive Web Design is the approach that a design should be flexible enough to adapt to the screen size and platform of the visiting user. Here is all you need to know.

Google was going to face a major conundrum: if every site had an entirely separate experience for mobile and desktop users, which site would actually be the one worthy of the incoming link? Would that rank pass to the mobile site and, if so, how much and why?

This is especially important when considering that there are predictions that mobile usage will overtake desktop usage by 2014. By encouraging developers to create one cogent web experience that adapts to the platform, Google is likely able to preserve many of its link algorithms and — to a certain degree — avoid the daunting burden of attempting to evaluate mobile and desktop versions as separate entities.

For developers, the benefits are also clear: the burden of needing to maintain multiple versions of a website will disappear over time. Additionally, a move to RWD will likely create a “Mobile First” mentality, which will inevitably result in a more clear architecture and user experience that is appropriately weighted.

Get the full story at Search Engine Watch, VentureBeat, and Google's Webmaster Central blog

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