Content Strategy 
for Responsive Websites 
Web Content Mavens 
January 8, 2013 โ€“ Washington, DC 
Clarissa Peterson 
@clarissa
โ€œSo youโ€™re going to make websites 
work better on mobile phones? 
Because right now they mostly all suck.โ€ 
โ€“ my friend who's not a web designer
Mobile Strategy?
Mobile strategy is the same thing as web 
strategy, but without ignoring mobile.
What is Responsive Design?
Flexible
http://www.bostonglobe.com/
http://www.bostonglobe.com/
http://www.jsonline.com/
Adjustable
http://www.unitedpixelworkers.com/
http://www.unitedpixelworkers.com/
http://www.unitedpixelworkers.com/
http://www.unitedpixelworkers.com/
http://www.unitedpixelworkers.com/
Flexible & Adjustable
But Itโ€™s Not Magic
โ€œIt's not like our industry nailed web 
design before we started doing 
responsive design. It's still a work in 
progress.โ€ 
โ€“ Dan Willis 
@uxcrank
Fixed-Width 
(just doesnโ€™t work)
http://www.nytimes.com
http://www.nytimes.com
Separate Mobile Site 
(whereโ€™s all the content?)
http://m.usa.gov
http://www.usa.gov
Photo credit: Brad Frost via Creative Commons http://flic.kr/p/cfQwL7
Context?
Stop making assumptions.
Photo credit: Kai Chan Vong via Creative Commons http://flic.kr/p/5c4Sfv
Photo credit: Carlos Smith via Creative Commons http://flic.kr/p/8tLb4P
โ€œThere is no Mobile Web. There is only 
The Web, which we view in different 
ways. There is also no Desktop Web. Or 
Tablet Web.โ€ 
โ€“ Stephen Hay 
@stephenhay
Why It Matters
85% 
of American adults 
own a cell phone 
http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2012/Smartphone-Update-Sept-2012.aspx
45% 
of American adults 
own a smartphone 
http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2012/Smartphone-Update-Sept-2012.aspx
40% 
have a cell phone thatโ€™s 
not a smartphone 
http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2012/Smartphone-Update-Sept-2012.aspx
17% 
do most of their online browsing 
on their phone 
http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2012/Smartphone-Update-Sept-2012.aspx
But most of them also have 
a desktop or laptop. 
http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2012/Smartphone-Update-Sept-2012.aspx
Fluid boundaries between devices.
1. Everything for Everybody
Content Parity
http://www.consumerreports.org
http://m.consumerreports.org
http://m.consumerreports.org
http://m.consumerreports.org
Access
http://www.unheap.com/
โ€œThe beauty of the web is its openness. 
Donโ€™t arbitrarily lock people out because 
of browser, device or configuration.โ€ 
โ€“ Brad Frost 
@brad_frost
2. Content First
Design Process
Design Develop
Design 
Develop
Responsive Prototyping
http://foundation.zurb.com/prototype-example2.php
Design for 
Small Screen First
โ€œMobile use case: I just transferred 
money at my desk using my phone 
because logging into my banking app 
requires fewer steps.โ€ 
โ€“ Stephanie Rieger 
@stephanierieger
Make it easy for everyone.
Context of Use
Put the important stuff first 
but donโ€™t get rid of the rest of it.
http://www.kiwibank.co.nz/
http://www.kiwibank.co.nz/
http://www.kiwibank.co.nz/
http://www.kiwibank.co.nz/
http://www.kiwibank.co.nz/
http://www.kiwibank.co.nz/
http://www.kiwibank.co.nz/
Mobile Devices
http://waterlife.nfb.ca/
http://waterlife.nfb.ca/
If you canโ€™t make it responsive, 
at least make sure it works.
3. Independent Content
It can go anywhere
http://www.forbes.com/sites/ericsavitz/2012/12/27/the-future-of-the-web-the-case-for-responsive-design/
http://www.forbes.com/sites/ericsavitz/2012/12/27/the-future-of-the-web-the-case-for-responsive-design/
via Instapaper
via Instapaper
Content Strategy
1. Everything for Everybody 
2. Content First 
3. Independent Content
Some responsive websites:
http://worldwildlife.org/
http://emerilsrestaurants.com/
http://www.wm.edu/
http://www.hsgac.senate.gov
Resources
Books 
Content Strategy for Mobile 
Karen McGrane (2012) 
http://www.abookapart.com/products/content-strategy-for-mobile 
Responsive Web Design 
Ethan Marcotte (2011) 
http://www.abookapart.com/products/responsive-web-design/ 
Content Strategy for the Web, 2nd Ed. 
Kristina Halvorson & Melissa Rach (2012) 
http://contentstrategy.com/
Articles 
Responsive Web Design - Ethan Marcotte (May 2010) 
http://www.alistapart.com/articles/responsive-web-design/ 
Responsive-Ready Content - Sara Wachter-Boettcher (March 2012) 
http://sarawb.com/2012/03/07/content-strategy-responsive-design/ 
How to Approach a Responsive Design (Boston Globe) - Tito Bottitta (Jan. 2012) 
http://upstatement.com/blog/2012/01/how-to-approach-a-responsive-design/ 
Design Process In The Responsive Age - Drew Clemons (May 2012) 
http://uxdesign.smashingmagazine.com/2012/05/30/design-process-responsive-age/ 
Dive into Responsive Prototyping with Foundation - Jonathan Smiley (April 2012) 
http://www.alistapart.com/articles/dive-into-responsive-prototyping-with-foundation/
A Few More Examples of Responsive Design 
Boston Globe http://www.bostonglobe.com 
Smashing Magazine http://www.smashingmagazine.com 
People (mobile site) http://m.people.com 
Disney http://disney.com/ 
Mashable (beta) http://beta.mashable.com/ 
Stuff & Nonsense http://www.stuffandnonsense.co.uk/ 
Google Nexus http://www.google.com/nexus/ 
Hotellweb http://www.hotellweb.no/?lang=en_US 
Andersson-Wise Architects http://www.anderssonwise.com 
WordPress Theme: Twenty Twelve http://twentytwelvedemo.wordpress.com/
Find me online: 
clarissapeterson.com 
@clarissa

Responsive Content Strategy