"From now on, if it’s not responsive, it’s not web design."

12th Sep 2011 | 19 notes

“From now on, if it’s not responsive, it’s not web design.”

“From now on, if it’s not responsive, it’s not web design.”

A little brash? Perhaps, but Andy Clarke is not one to mince words and he certainly knows his shit, so arguing to the contrary is probably unwise - but I just can’t fully get on board with this message, and here’s why:

There are a lot of excellent progressive websites out there without media queries. The designers and developers of these sites have dedicated a lot of time and effort towards proper semantics, progressive enhancement, etc, etc. I reckon these chaps would be rather offended if told their work was not considered ‘web design’. Zerply isn’t responsive, don’t you know.
A client may not be interested in ensuring their website is optimised across all devices, so responsive design is not required/wanted. Let’s not forget that non-responsive sites still display on these devices, they just require a little more user interaction to zoom in and/or scroll around. As long as the client is aware of this and is happy, then so am I.
A client may not have the budget for the extra work that responsive design entails - this is an extremely valid point for small agencies (such as the one I’m employed by) working with SME’s.

The responsive design message is an important one, but it’s one that should be made without belittlement of one’s peers. I also see a clear distinction between web design and optimisation for mobile devices, so with that in mind, here’s a responsive design message of my own: