Looking to do web design/light development...Smartphone necessary/helpful?

[Satyrist]

As I've begun to transition over to online marketing/advertising, particularly with design and some development as well, I've started to think whether I need to get some variety of smartphone to assist in looking to make websites more mobile compliant.

Is this something that would become more necessary as time moves ahead, or more towards very helpful, but not absolutely necessary?

I'm a touch of a luddite when it comes to phones, I probably will be among one of the last people that are either friends/family that'll pick up a smartphone.

Not looking to ask about WHICH variety as of yet, that's a discussion for another thread. I am pretty aware of the choices out there.

 

[runawayprisoner]

No, that's not necessary.

Most mobile browsers now are compatible with whatever basic function you'll throw at a full website, so you don't have to do anything too fancy to be "compliant".

Most mobile-specific websites are in fact only resizing contents to fit smaller screen, but that doesn't mean current smartphones can't view full websites.

 

[Satyrist]

I was asking about it more from the standpoint of actually having a device available to view a given site on, so if there are problems or bugs with it, I can see it more in real-time.

It was always helpful to see what "the average size/resolution" of what the majority of monitors was, so that nobody needs to scroll horizontally at all, therefore I'd have to figure those on mobile devices may have the same sort of pet peeve there.

 

[runawayprisoner]

Well, mobile devices can zoom in on a website, and the majority of smartphones have a "resizing" function of some sort, so there is really never a worry about that kind of thing.

Of course it's better to have the real thing to test sizes and such on, but it's never really a worry in this day and age.