RWDonly

RWDonly is a term used to describe a design philosophy in web development that relies exclusively on responsive web design (RWD) techniques to make content adapt to different devices. The approach favors a single, flexible layout that reflows across screen sizes using fluid grids, flexible images, and CSS media queries, rather than creating separate mobile- or device-specific sites or using server-side content negotiation. The intention is to deliver a consistent user experience across desktops, tablets, and smartphones from a single codebase.

Origins and usage: The concept arises from the broader adoption of responsive web design popularized in the early 2010s by Ethan Marcotte. RWDonly emphasizes avoiding maintenance of multiple site variants and discourages redirection or device-targeted content that relies on user-agent detection. In practice, teams adopting RWDonly also often follow mobile-first or progressive enhancement principles, ensuring core content works on small screens before expanding features for larger displays.

Benefits: improved maintainability due to a single source of truth, consistent UX, better SEO through unified URLs, and easier updates. It also helps future-proof sites against new devices.

Limitations: designing solely for responsive behavior can lead to performance challenges on low-power devices if not optimized; complex interactions may require careful scripting to work across breakpoints; some projects may still benefit from adaptive approaches.