Mobile Websites vs Responsive Design: What’s the right solution for your business?
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Here are some guidelines to help you decide what makes sense for your business:
If I decide responsive design is a better fit for my business, do I have to build my site from scratch?
Not necessarily. A sophisticated web developer might be able to adapt an existing site with responsive design, but there will still be costs in terms of time and budget.
Will a site built with responsive design have more than one URL?
No. A site built with responsive design will have the same URL for desktop, mobile and tablets. When building a separate mobile optimized site, typically there is a different mobile URL, but the users will be taken there automatically as long as your desktop site is enabled with the auto redirect code.
How much does it cost to use responsive design for mobile?
Prices vary across developers and agencies. We recommend reaching out to a developer and/or agency for help on getting started.
Responsive design can definitely minimize long term maintenance of your site, but many businesses can effectively connect with their customers with a separate mobile-friendly site. If you have the technical resources and a clear business need, then responsive design is a more advanced way to make your site mobile-friendly. No matter how you go about it, you need to ensure you are designing for mobile first, and engaging your customers when they're using their mobile phones to search for your business.
For additional resources on the value of mobile, testing your site and finding developers to help you build your mobile-friendly site, visit howtogomo.com.
Posted by Jessica Sapick, Associate Product Marketing Manager
