Learn these Basics to Implement Responsive Web Designing

Not all websites are created equal. Websites that were designed within the past year are vastly different from websites that were built even 3 years ago. One of the main factors that define strong web design is whether it is responsive or not. Let’s take a look at what responsive web design is, why it’s important, and best practices for beginners.

What is Responsive Web Design?

The first thing you need to know is that mobile-friendly is not the same as responsive design. A website that is mobile-friendly does not necessarily have responsive design. However, a website that has responsive design will display properly on a mobile device.

Responsive:The term “responsive” refers to a web design that responds to the user accessing the website from a particular device. A responsive website retains all of the same features and content types (video, images, text, structure), but either expands or shrinks to accommodate the screen size of the device (mobile phone, phablet, tablet, etc.). All users will see the same website, just different sizes.

Mobile-Optimized: A mobile-optimized or mobile-friendly only website isn’t “responsive” like responsive web design. A mobile-optimized website is a secondary website that visitors are directed to when searching on a mobile device. The mobile-optimized version of the website has to be updated separately from the desktop version of the website.

What Google says about Responsive Design

The truth is that the developers at Google (the ones managing the search engine’s algorithm) recommend responsive design. As the number one search engine worldwide, it’s always a good idea to follow Google’s recommendations when building your website. There are 6 main reasons Google’s developers have listed to back up their recommendation for responsive design. The reasons they recommend for responsive design are:

It’s easier for people to link to / share your content using a single URL

Google can accurately index the pages

You spend less time managing the pages

Reduces common mistakes that happen on mobile sites

Does not require redirection, so load time is faster

It’s more efficient for Google bots to crawl, so your site is indexed quicker and more accurately

Although not listed on the Google developer page here, Google has also stated that more people are searching on mobile devices so Google is adapting its algorithm to meet mobile demand.

Why Users Love Responsive Design

Users want to view websites according to their own preferences. They don’t want to be limited to searching the internet on a desktop computer. Responsive web design gives users the choice to search and view websites at their convenience. As people spend increasing amounts of time on mobile devices, it’s important to have a website that displays well and is user-friendly when accessed via a mobile device.

The Basics of Responsive Web Design for Non-Developers

As you design your website, it’s recommended to follow best practices for responsive design. Below are a few factors that will impact your responsive design:

Layout – How the website is laid out changes according to the device it is viewed on. Be sure to use layouts that lend themselves to easy conversion for each device. Avoid complex JavaScript or any Flash elements.

Prioritize Content – This is a follow-up to the layout. As the layout shifts and website content begins to stack, certain elements are moved below others. Determine which content is the most important and place it accordingly in the responsive design.

Adaptive Images – Ensure that your web developer uses adaptive sizing for images so they will easily resize for different devices. You want to ensure the image is proportionally sized to the device.

Remove Unsuitable Elements – Some elements on your website aren’t designed to be accessible on mobile. Ask your developer to make sure those elements aren’t visible in mobile environments.

Navigation – Navigation can make or break responsive design. By ensuring that your website’s navigation is clean and easy to follow, your website will create a better mobile user experience.

Load Time / Performance – A website with a bunch of visuals can be very appealing – on a desktop. But, if the images are too large and take too long to load on a mobile device, it makes for a bad user experience and users will leave your site.