SNOW aims to improve responsive design

The goal of responsive web design is to seamlessly adapt the look and UX of a website to different platforms. The technique is still very young and in many areas outstrips the available technology.

Trilibis has announced the launch of SNOW — Software eNabling One Web — that aims to improve our ability to deliver responsive design by making websites truly device-aware, and by addressing the problems that have slowed its adoption:

• Responsive sites are slow
  A recent Akamai study of 347 responsive websites, found that 86% had the same data load regardless of their destination screen. This means that both a desktop computer and a bandwidth-limited iPhone are processing the same amount of data.
• Converting to Responsive Design usually means a complete website rebuild
  Often, both layout and architecture must be completely rethought to support fluid content.
• “Responsiveness” refers only to screen width, and no other parameters
  You can’t use RWD to target content by device or browser type, or otherwise optimize the experience for specific mobile use-cases.
• Inconsistent browser support
  Not all devices and browsers support Responsive Design the same way. More than ever, users pop from platform to platform while exploring a purchase decision: keeping responsive sites consistent remains a chore.

SNOW is HTML5-compliant server-side software that allows web designers and developers to create truly responsive multi-device websites. Based on a single code-base, using one URL, sites built with SNOW load fast across the full array of devices and seamlessly adjust their layout and user experience to different platforms.

Two of the main claims of SNOW for web designers is that it maintains and draws from a constantly updated device library and can augment existing web assets and code, rather than requiring a total rebuild.

SNOW is available as a free developer version or enterprise license. To find out more about how it works, visit the Trilibis website, or download their white paper.

Have you developed with SNOW? How do you solve these responsive design dilemmas? Let us know in the comments.

Featured image/thumbnail, snow image via Shutterstock.

WDD Staff

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