With the proliferation of mobile devices has come an increased interest in responsive web design (RWD). RWD takes into account the multitude of devices where your content will be displayed and rearranges the content to show appropriately. This allows devices of varying sizes to display content without excessive pinch and zoom by your site’s users. While this may seem like a panacea, often times a responsive solution is not the best choice.
When your site’s users are required to perform a multitude of actions, (such as banking site, social media site, or any site with complicated interactions) — a dedicated mobile solution is the best choice. Many of the popular mobile sites such as Facebook, twitter, etc are not responsive. These sites rely on browser detection techniques which send a unique design to mobile and tablet devices. These sites are providing a dedicated mobile experience, which is a superior user experience than a responsive solution can deliver.
Mobile devices accounted for 55% of Internet usage in the United States in January 2014. With the percent of users on mobile being greater than desktop, creating a unique mobile experience is paramount to the success of your product or business.