Responsive web design, what is it really?
Responsive designing means the approach that the designer makes in creating a web page that ‘responds’ or resizes itself, depending on what device is used. This either could be a laptop, desktop computer monitor or smartphones, and tablets. Web design and development that uses responsive elements has become an integral part of the process for just about anyone who has a digital web presence.
With the escalating use of smartphones and other mobile computing devices, more and more people are making use of smaller screens to see web pages. In a nutshell, a website should be smartphone user-friendly. Otherwise, the brand could lose out on leads and of course sales. As a matter of fact, 40 percent of users have proceeded to the website of the competition after an inferior mobile experience.
RESPONSIVE DESIGN, THE BIG THING
These days, responsive design is a huge thing in web design and development. However, for those who are not designers, they may wonder what this truly means and even uncertain as to whether or not the website of the business should implement a responsive design, particularly if one does not comprehend the concept. Responsive design could help solve numerous issues of a website. It does not only make the site mobile-friendly but enhance its look on devices as well.
The ultimate aim of responsive design is to steer clear of unnecessary scrolling, resizing, panning or zooming that happens with a website that is not optimized for various devices. It is usually very hard to navigate these websites and could make prospective customers frustrated trying to determine how to find what they need.
THE RELEVANCE OF A RESPONSIVE WEBSITE DESIGN
A website for a business is not enough. It has to be user-friendly and responsive to boost customer retention and sales. For any online business, responsive web design is the best solution. Websites that are responsive is a game-changer in industries these days. Responsive means the content on all pages is flexible across all sizes, resolutions of screen and devices. It also means users could read and navigate a website with less scrolling and resizing.
A website that is responsive could boost user experience that translates to a positive perception of the business and brand. If customers are able to gain access to a website seamlessly on all platforms, they’re likely to return for more business in the future, which of course would mean a higher rate of conversion for the site. In today’s world where there is so much traffic coming from mobile devices, it’s vital to accommodate this factor throughout the website.
Responsive websites in general load faster, which likely boost ranking and minimize the bounce rate. Furthermore, it could make for easier social sharing, helping to grow a larger brand audience. Web maintenance and SEO campaigns also are much smoother processes with a mobile-friendly website. Responsive means only having only one website to look after. Moreover, it’s also faster and less costly compared to creating a stand-alone mobile app aside from the desktop website.
Mobile-friendly websites are now industry standard, special thanks to mobile-first indexing, taking a minute to ensure the best web design possible. Google recently has changed the web ranking algorithm, giving priority to a website that’s optimized. Even if a page is entirely relevant to their search, but visitors are having difficulty accessing it in any device, the website would not get a positive review and would be put lower in the SEO results.
Branding is another way of building trust and relationships with customers and keep them coming back for more business and sales. A responsive site could help since it could help produce a web appearance that’s consistent. To stay ahead of the competition, a responsive design could help push a website to new heights.
THE RELEVANCE OF A RESPONSIVE WEB DESIGN
With the birth of responsive website design, one could view pages on any device, such as desktops, tablets, and smartphones in exactly the same manner. This makes a website get the same functionality degree, regardless of what device is used. A web developer who prefers creating the best responsive web design makes it accessible to each and every visitor and provide them with an optimal experience. Features of responsive web design are the following.
1. Media Queries:
Filters are added to the CSS to impact the feel and look of pages. CSS is extremely useful for web designers and helps in resizing layouts as well as rendering a page to make it easier to read.
2. Flexible Layout:
This helps format margins and positioning of the major elements of a page. This helps web designers select the number of columns based on a page. Furthermore, this removes the need to rework texts and layouts across many devices. Rather than numbers, a designer makes use of percentages, making it more fluid to produce more pages. One pixel can seem entirely different on a smartphone than on a desktop.
3. Using CSS or dynamic resizing:
This helps to create content. Dynamic resizing provides a designer more control on the pages and allows them to replace or add modules depending on the requirements.
All the features mentioned above help visitors get familiar with the brand, whether they are using desktops, smartphones or tablets. The intuitive design helps ascertain that the page will be accordingly resized and resizes the elements present in the pages as well.
Responsive web design is more popular these days because of the cleaner look it provides. With a small screen, adding more widgets and buttons made it appear unattractive and crowded. Responsive website design makes a site robust, with plenty of utility. And with high-quality content, the user-focused experience will boost the time users spend on a website and make them stick around for a longer. A bi-product of the longer time on your site will result in a lower bounce rate too.
Google recommends a responsive web design pattern. Aside from that, it makes for good user experience and improves search engine optimization efforts in all search engines.
In conclusion, a responsive website could save on maintenance time, save a lot of money and also help in conversions and retention of more customers for years to come.
Biography:
Joanna Baretto is a Business Analyst at tatvasoft.com.au, which is a leading web application development in Australia, She has been working for four years in a Technological domain. Her work across multiple disciplines broadly addresses the narratives of techno experience. You can find her on twitter @BarettoJoanna.
