Paul Boag

Is a responsive website always the right solution?

Author:
Paul Boag
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Published:
11 September 2013
Categories:
Development Digital Insights
Reading time:
1 minutes

Increasingly the web design community is turning to responsive design, but where does that leave separate mobile websites? Are they a thing of the past?

Warning! The post you are viewing is out of date and almost certainly no longer accurate. For more topical posts, check out the “related reading” at the bottom of this page or drop me an email with any questions.

Before responsive design, the only option we had for making websites compatible with mobile devices was a separate mobile site. These were expensive to build and created various maintenance headaches, but were they entirely inferior?

Mobile websites allow you a greater ability to customise the content and structure for mobile users. Admittedly some argue that the content delivered to mobile devices should be identical, but there is no doubt that occasionally some customisation would be useful.

So my question for you is do mobile websites have a place? Or put in terms of our debate series…

This house proposes that where budgets allow organisations should create a separate mobile website instead of relying on responsive design.

Do you agree? If money is no object would you recommend a separate mobile site for a client or would you stick with a responsive website? Let me know in the comments below.

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Puma

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Oxford University

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Author of Transform

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QUEEN MARY’S UNIVERSITY LONDON

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MÉDECINS SANS FRONTIÈRES

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Medecins San Frontieres, being a decentralised international association, faces challenges in meeting the needs of a diverse global audience. Paul and the team at Headscape have been invaluable in helping us see the potential of digital for doing this. They have helped us recognize the changes needed to engage with our connected audiences, bringing clarity and innovation to our digital strategy.

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THE SAMARITANS

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UNICEF

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MOTIF STUDIO

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Beginning Boutique

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