When I first heard the term “Responsive Web Design” (RWD) I thought it had something to do with the speed with which the website operated, but that was not the case.  Proponents of RWD define it as a design methodology that can sense the type of device it is being viewed on and adjusts the site to optimize the experience for the user.  Let’s say a desktop user and an iPhone user is accessing the same site. 

The experience could be quite different when being viewed on a 19 inch screen versus a 3½ inch screen.  There is nothing worse than trying to get some information from a miniature website on my smart-phone.  If you’ve designed your website with RWD, it will automatically adjust the visuals based on the size of the display.  Some website builders will create an entire parallel website optimized for a small screen to accomplish RWD.

Why is this becoming increasingly necessary?  A Gartner study predicts mobile web browsing to outpace desktop browsing by 2013.  If your site experience is only favorable from a desktop system, you may be annoying more than half of your visitors by next year. 

My company recently redesigned our website; new content, new structure and RWD.  Take a look at www.dmcdental.com from a desktop computer.  Now look at the same site from your smart phone, the same, but different.  The experience is optimized based on the device.  This is a right click no matter how small your screen.