The term responsive web design refers to the modern way of designing a website so that it looks good and performs well on various devices and platforms. This has become essential, especially in our times where visual design is increasingly important.
Responsive web design falls under the umbrella of mobile optimization, which encompasses measures that guarantee optimized display and usability of web content on mobile devices.
A responsive website reacts to the device on which it is displayed. It recognizes which device it is using and then presents itself in the best possible way. Logically, the same website will be displayed differently on a laptop and on a smartphone. Responsive web design is therefore unbeatable in terms of flexibility. The key is that functions, data, and resources such as images, videos, or text only need to be provided once and are automatically adapted to the device. Criteria such as screen size and resolution are used to optimize the display for the device. This allows the same website to be displayed beautifully and user-friendly on both a large 4K TV and a small smartphone.
In contrast to a responsive website, there is adaptive design. A mobile website, or one optimized exclusively for mobile devices, requires significantly more maintenance. It is a separate and therefore additional site to the desktop version.
With this approach, it is necessary to consider two formats when creating a website: a desktop site whose URL begins with www. and a mobile website with m. or mobil. A version of the website optimized for tablets must also be created and maintained separately as a third website.
Today, responsive websites are the most common; website designs that do not incorporate responsive design are outdated and becoming increasingly less relevant.
Conclusion: As new devices constantly enter the electronics market, responsive web design should now be standard practice when creating a website.