Creating a Website that Takes a Long Time to Load
One of the disadvantages of creating a responsive website is that there is no other option than to squeeze several resources into a single page. These resources are needed since they give information on the way your website will display on different gadgets. Majority of responsive websites have to load all resources before the page can be viewed. This process is expected to take a long time.
This is not much of a problem, though, for users who access your website with the use of their PCs and laptops. However, in the case of a smartphone, it could take more than 7 seconds to load, letting you lose majority of your mobile traffic. Those who use smartphones are impatient and would not like to wait – even for a short while – and this can affect your business.
Removing some Content to Fit Smaller Screens
Though this has been thought of way back, many people still support the idea of providing less content to smartphone users. However, when you give low-quality experience to users of small mobile devices on purpose, you are placing your website’s profitability at risk. We are aware of the fact that mobile users use different devices to carry out tasks. So, if a specific part of your website does not appear on their smartphone, you lose an opportunity to sell your goods.
The best option is to provide all your info in a compressed and easy to navigate format. Though designing it this way will require lots of effort, it is worth doing. Also, consider the fact that when you hide some info using CSS, it will still get downloaded. Therefore, nothing is lost when you provide mobile users with a complete web experience.
Ignoring Cross-contextual Conventions
Responsive designing is not only intended for computers and smartphones, as there are many other devices you need to take into consideration when creating the design. You should also think about the way people interact, not only with their smartphones, but also Internet TVs and tablets. However, this does not mean that you have to create again a UI experience for all of these devices. Perhaps it would be easier to create separate sites. On the other hand, you can build responsive navigation that takes the device context into account, and create designs that the user can easily understand.