Responsive design has totally ruined desktop web experience (rant)

I think this is the first time I’ve ever heard someone say they would prefer horizontal scroll.

In any case, displaying layout based on user agent detection is a thing of the past. There are just too many of them and the method is too unreliable to be of much use now-a-days.

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I couldn’t agree more! The fallacy that all Websites must be “responsive” is just that! Fallacy!

I have a bit of advertising experience, having studied advertising art at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh when I was young, and I also have studied copy writing, so I have an entirely different perspective on the purpose of a Website than most new developers today.

The purpose of a business Website is ADVERTISING! A company wants a Website in order to gain more business and sell more products or service. A Website, like a print ad, is an advertising tool, but it is capable of so much more than a print ad, and that is the beauty of it … or WAS.

No small screen mobile device can display sufficient copy and graphics to do the job it is supposed to do, and that is to grab the attention of the viewer with an attractively designed site, an effective headline, perhaps a subhead, and well written copy that is designed to SELL. “A copy writer is a salesman behind a typewriter,” said Judith K. Charles, president of Judith K. Charles Creative Communication.

I have designed sites for people in construction who want photos of their jobs on the Website as examples of their work. Before I started building Websites for others, I built one for my ceramic tile installation company, and displayed photos of my work, as well as progress photos showing step-by-step how to build a custom ceramic tile shower. I challenge anybody to make such a site do that job when viewed on a mobile device. I guarantee, it can’t be done.

Additionally, the design possibilities are extremely limited as well. A well designed Website that SELLS is an art form. An attractive Website tells something about the business, but a poorly designed site reflects negatively. If you’re not a “Home Depot” your Website had better look good, because it makes the owner appear to be a professional who cares about his business.

My wife sells on Etsy, and one of the biggest complaints from sellers is that people using mobile devices do not read descriptions or other important information, as they don’t want to have to scroll to find what they need to know. Then they are dissatisfied with what they get, claiming that it isn’t what they expected! This results in negative seller feedback. This isn’t a problem when people purchase using a standard PC with a wide screen display, which shows more information without the need to scroll.

While it’s true that you can build an attractive site using Joomla! or some other CMS program, there is still a huge difference between that and a custom designed Website. And you still have the same problem when viewed on a tiny screen; it does not show enough information at once, and the artistic value is lost.

Lastly, the cost to make a Website look good on both a wide screen display and a mobile device would probably be prohibitive for most small businesses. It requires 3 times the work for all the different CSS style sheets and coding required to satisfy the requirements of both.

I would never even THINK of looking for a building contractor by using a mobile device, or any other type of product or service. It simply cannot do the job.

And that’s my rant.

Replies like this is one reason why I rarely come to Sitepoint anymore.

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Paul, what is “content” but copy? And, yes, COPY is everything. BUT a person won’t even read the copy if there isn’t something that leads them to read it, and that is an EYE CATCHING page, with A WELL WRITTEN EFFECTIVE HEADLINE.

I can tell that you have no advertising experience.

But you felt strongly enough to sign up with a new account to tell everyone so?

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There is a “sameness” that has taken over the craft. For example, the circle with the photo in it (as here on this forum) is the fad now. My wife tells me Etsey just made that change. Now EVERYBODY uses the little circles with the photo!!! There is NO originality anymore! Disgusting, and sad.

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I think it will end eventually, when businesses realize their Website is doing nothing for them because it was designed to be viewed on such a tiny screen that nobody can view their products and are too lazy to scroll to read the copy! A wide screen monitor can display the whole page of copy all at once. Like looking at a magazine ad. That’s what I as a business owner want my clients to see. That’s the kind of Website that is able to SELL, which is the whole purpose of having it.

I wonder, can anyone read a blog on a mobile device? Doubtful.

Of course they can, if it’s responsive!

I read Medium pieces and others on a daily basis on a phone. The phone doesn’t strike me as much of a limitation for that.

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But that isn’t what responsive design is about, now, is it? It’s about giving your users/visitors/customers the freedom to access your website with the device of their choice. And a good responsive design will give them the complete wonderful magazine ad experience when using their wide screen monitor, and maybe a less complete wonderful experience (but still good enought to be useful) when using smaller devices.

And if you really only want to cater to wide screen monitors, then nobody is stopping you, but you should be aware that you’re eliminating an ever growing percentage of possible customers.

But that’s always been what businesses are all about, isn’t it? ROI.

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Then I must just be lucky :slight_smile:

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Sure. I’ll bet. That tiny screen probably only shows five words at a time!

NOT Anyone who thinks a business Website is anything other than advertising ought not to be in the Web design business, because ADVERTISING is the primary reason for a Website, and If you don’t know that, and don’t know anything about writing COPY (“content” to you non-advertising types), you have no business making Web pages. Even the design of the page has to be done with the goal of advertising in mind to reflect the company’s image, it’s business, etc.

Creating a “user experience” is NOT the goal. The goal is to interest the client in your product or service and SELL!

I think you missed the point. You cannot possibly create a Website that SELLS when it is viewed on a screen so tiny that nobody is going to read the copy! Look, it’s a challenge to write headlines and copy in the first place that people will want to read. It’s a specialized skill that is learned. I have entire books on writing effective copy, and books on marketing. There is no way in HELL that you are going to be able to put what’s on a full size screen into what amounts to a postage stamp and get the same result. No. 1. You can’t display the graphics that are intended to catch the readers attention. No. 2. If you even get that far, you can’t display a headline in full, and nobody really wants to read advertising any way, so if you can’t get there attention because they can’t even see the headline, they for damn sure aren’t going to dig into the copy! Anyone who doesn’t understand this knows zilch about advertising and has no business making Websites for businesses!

Business Web designing is about advertising. Doing the coding is just a means to get it on the Web, but first and foremost it’s a problem in advertising, and this takes an artist and a skilled copy writer, not just some geek that only knows how to code. Unless of course your client has already had the other work done, and hands it to you to get the design coded for the Web.

Look, I’m sensitive here, I realize it; but I hate to see the beautiful tool that the Web is, which really lends itself to advertising, destroyed by the crowd that says everything has to be “mobile friendly!” It’s like Political Correctness in Web Design! I go to my Google Webmaster tools and the first thing I see about my sites is that they are not “responsive!” Well, frankly, I don’t giver a damn! They were designed long before this insanity took hold of this business!

I couldn’t sign in with my old account. Couldn’t find it. It was easier to just sign in using my Google account. I didn’t feel like spending a half hour or more to figure out how to get in with my original account. Sorry. Life is short.

10 years ago, agreed. Nowadays? Not so much.

Now, it’s about engagement. It’s about getting your customer interested in your brand, your products, your services. It can be strictly informative, but it’s more likely interactive in some manner (videos, social media. whatever).

And considering that a number of studies have shown that more people engage via mobile devices (study example here), you’ve GOT to take them into consideration. Ignoring them because it’s inconvenient is risking losing business.

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You seem to be missing the point of RWD. It might not show a user the perfect layout for your site on their device but at least you are on their device! if you have an old school site that is not ‘mobile friendly’ they won’t even be finding your site because even if they find it (your google rank will be much lower than other mobile friendly sites) they won’t stay long if they have to scroll horizontally and zoom continually.

Post edited by cpradio to make it less personal

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So every single site is for that purpose? If you agree with this, then you are incredibly naive.

Overall I disagree with almost everything you said. It’s a very outdated / old way to look at the web.

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Every single BUSINESS site is for that purpose. Otherwise, why would you have a Website?

So, what do YOU think the purpose of a Website is? Fun and games?