The term Responsive Web Design (RWD) is used and abused on a daily basis. It has become as buzz wordy as web2.0 and used as generically as SEO and performance. The words are now used to define a host of website implementations that they were never intended to include. The initial concepts and applications that Ethan Marcotte provided gave us a roadmap, some vocabulary, techniques, and a process to adapt to a landscape of website implementation that was changing rapidly. Now that these concepts have become common expectations, Is Responsive Web Design enough?

I have had the opportunity to work on several major client projects. Through these experiences I have evaluated base themes, leveraged CSS preprocessors, worked with javascript libraries, and battled frameworks. I have bundled the best and worst of these experiences into a presentation in an effort to continue to grow the ability for developers, project managers, and stakeholders to meet the needs of modern web development.

Specifically, I will take a look into how the expectations, needs, and implications change between a project with a budget of $20,000 versus $2,000,000. Where the benefits of RWD become limitations for large projects and large teams. And what everyone on the project should know (and agree to) before starting a website that implements Responsive Web Design.

Need some bullet points and buzz words to help you decide if you’re interested in this session… here you go:

• Flexible and fluid: a base theme, framework or do it yourself
• You just might need some javascript: responsive images, HiDPI, media queries
• Stop talking about the device, start talking about the display
• Improve communication with better vocabulary
• Skills, tools, and best practices for all developers
• Refactoring your preprocessed CSS is now part of your workflow
• Things Project Managers, Clients, Stakeholders, and Back-end Developers should know