Dallas Web Design: What’s The Difference Between Scalable and Responsive?

In today's modern world, people can access the internet from anywhere and everywhere. One person may be looking at your website from their desktop computer at work, another may find it on their smaller laptop as they sit in a coffee shop, another on their tablet while waiting at the airport, and yet another person could find your website from their smartphone as they're driving and looking for an answer right away.

All of these people are on the same website, but accessing it from very different devices- all of which are unique sizes. A website built to be seen only on a desktop computer would be a nightmare for someone using an iPhone to attempt to navigate. That's why experts in Dallas web design will go over the need for either a scalable or responsive website when planning your project.

What is Scalable Web Design?

Let's first discuss the option of a scalable design. Implementing scalable design offers your company significant benefits. It is a way for Dallas web design experts to solve common design challenges, like ensuring that images, videos, and other objects do not become squished on smaller screens.

What Does it Allow You to do?

Scalable design takes the way a website looks and scales it to the screen it is being displayed on. By scaling the content on a page to fit the screen of the device being used, this type of design allows you to:

  • Know exactly how your content will look on any screen
  • Feel confident that your content will look attractive and consistent across devices
  • Save development time and money

Testing content on dozens of different screens is costly and time-consuming. Scalable design eliminates the need for this!

What is Responsible Web Design?

Sometimes, simply scaling down content isn’t enough. It's significantly better than forcing website viewers to attempt to read a page built for a much larger screen, but it isn't perfect. This is why Dallas web design experts began looking for yet another solution: responsive design.

This form of website design is the industry standard now and has been since 2020. This form is best known for its ability to control the layout of the page, as well as change the text, button, and image size. It does this while also allowing individual elements to be swapped or hidden depending on the browser or device.

The Benefits of Opting for Responsive Web Design

There are many reasons that this form of website design is now the industry standard. It's incredibly beneficial. A few reasons to consider this design option include:

  • Your website will be designed specifically to fit targeted devices
  • It will be easier for audiences to engage
  • It is the best fit for most mobile devices
  • This gives the web designers the most layout control

While all of this sounds great, quite a bit of coding goes into creating a responsive website. This can be complicated for teams with few resources. 

Is Scalable or Responsive Web Design Right for Your Website?

It is up to you which of these mobile-friendly design styles you choose to implement. Scalable design is incredibly easy to implement. No coding is needed to change how the website shows up. For this reason, it is reliable across all browsers and devices. Scalable styles don’t require as much know-how or resources to implement, so it is a great fit for creating sites that look good on the most screens possible.

On the other hand, scalable design is no longer considered "the best." If you choose a scalable design, you should be aware that you'll need to switch again to responsive within a few years.

Choose the one that is the best fit for your team now. If you don't have the resources for responsive, scalable design is better than ignoring mobile and making half your audience look at a page that doesn’t fit on their phone's screen.

Dallas Web Design Done by The Old State

The Old State has the web design experts you're looking for. Our team knows the best way to produce your perfect website, no matter which style you ultimately decide to go with. Reach out today and let's discuss your ideas for your project!