Fundamentals and Best Practices of Responsive Websites

Almost every new client nowadays requests a mobile version of their website. After all, there must be one design for the BlackBerry, one for the iPhone, iPad, netbook, and Kindle, and all screen resolutions must be compatible - it's practically a must. We'll probably need to design for a few more inventions in the next five years. When is this madness going to end? Of course, it won't.

In the realm of Web design and development, we're quickly nearing the point where we won't be able to keep up with the never-ending new resolutions and devices. Creating a website version for each resolution and each device would be unfeasible, or at the very least impracticable, for many websites. Should we simply accept the implications of losing visitors from one device for more visits from another? Is there another possibility?

What is Responsive Web design?

Responsive design is a web design method that allows your content to adjust to various screen and window sizes on a range of devices.

On desktop screens, for example, your information may be divided into different columns because they are wide enough to accommodate such a design. It will be difficult for users to read and interact with your information if you divide it into many columns on a mobile device.

Responsive websites enable you to show different layouts of your information and design to different devices depending on screen size.

The Advantages of Responsive Websites

Now you may gradually develop the idea that responsive web design is a must, not merely a fashion statement. Furthermore, this is a critical way of thinking while developing any business website.

Aside from the benefits listed above, there are a few more advantages to adopting a responsive website, including

Lower website construction and maintenance expenses
Improved and consistent user experience
Easier website management
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) boost

Let's look at each one separately.

• Reduced Development and Maintenance Costs

Before the introduction of responsive design, the practice of maintaining two websites - one for mobile users and the other for desktop visitors - was very common. However, having those nowadays takes a lot of effort and money.

You simply need one version of your site for users on any device using responsive web design. It allows you to run and maintain your page on the same domain, simplifying your efforts and lowering your website creation and maintenance costs. As a result, investing in a single responsive site design saves time and money by providing a page that appeals to all visitors on all devices.

• Better User Experience

Responsive websites mean no more extra clicks, unreadable fonts, or excessive scrolling for your visitors. Because websites that aren't responsive and have an uncomfortable layout can make you appear unprofessional. And it's quite improbable that your users would return to your website. Not only for you but also for your users, responsive web design eases suffering. It gives a consistent and seamless user experience, which is one of the most important variables in lead generation, sales, and conversions.

One of the most significant advantages of having a responsive website, both for your audience and for your business, is improved user experience. You can persuade visitors that your company is trustworthy by creating a great overall image.

• Flexible Website Management

Responsive website design helps you to keep a single site for all users regardless of device. So, if you want to change the look of your material, you can do it all in one location. The same may be said for content analytics and tracking on your website. In website management or even minor typo correction, this flexibility is invaluable.

Responsive websites free you from having to manage every component of your website; you won't have to spend as much time maintaining the way it looks. Flexible website maintenance allows you to focus your time on other critical aspects of your organization, such as marketing.

As a result, responsive website design relieves a lot of the stress (and time) that comes with keeping a business website up to date.

• Improved SEO Results

Because responsive design is a Google-recommended design pattern, a site that uses it will appear higher in search results than one that does not. The higher your ranking, the more likely potential clients will find you. Because the number of mobile users is rapidly increasing, it's critical to reach clients on smaller devices.

How? Responsiveness is a tried-and-true strategy that can help you gain a competitive advantage and improve your SEO rankings in the long run.

The Most Important Aspects Of Responsive Websites

While persuading you that responsive website design is necessary, it's as important to understand what goes into this design strategy. A strategy that adapts dynamically to different browsers and device kinds by modifying the layout view and content.

So, let's look at the three primary components of responsive design. “Design is more than how something looks and feels,” Steve Jobs said. It works because of the design.”

What is the mechanism of responsiveness? The following are three components of responsive web design:

Fluid grid layout - a method of creating a layout using a fluid grid that adapts to the size of the screen;
Flexible text and image sizes - scalable texts and media that change size when the viewport changes
CSS media queries - a technology that allows altering and configuring website design based on the size of the browser window

What Do Good Responsive Websites Look Like?

There are a few critical factors for developing an effective, responsive website, just as there are for traditional web page design. These approaches can help you take your website development to the next level and expand your responsive practice. It's critical to stay on top of web design trends because they change at the speed of light every year.

However, while some of the best responsive design strategies have remained unchanged since their inception, more advanced techniques necessitate coding expertise and skills.

These are just a few pointers for creating responsive websites.

Prepare Ahead of Time

Half of your success is determined by your plan. This is why it's critical to plan out every detail of your adaptable website design ahead of time.

Consider these when making a plan:

Prioritize content by estimating your product features
Remember what works and what doesn't (keep this in mind when applying hover effects)
Use icons where appropriate
Make your button sizes large
Don't overlook A/B testing

Take Note of the Typography

Typography is important for your brand's identity, user experience, and overall appearance. This is true for both standard and responsive website design.

There are numerous things to consider when it comes to typography and mobile devices:

Font size and type
Color contrast
Text amount
Line lengths, hierarchy levels, and so forth

Some essential strategies to consider while dealing with typography on your responsive websites may be found in our definitive guide on fonts and typography.

Page Loading Time Should be Reduced

You must've seen a lot of data on why people leave your page after a few seconds. Yes, they expect it to load in a flash. Otherwise, you risk losing your current audience and new clients.

For smartphone and tablet users, page load time is far more crucial because they are all impatient and easily frustrated. You can avoid this by reducing the number of plugins on your page, using optimized media assets, and eliminating a lot of redirects.

Choose Your Media Wisely

As previously said, high-resolution photographs take up a lot of space and take a long time to load. Your site will load faster and overall page speed will improve if you condense your media file sizes. However, because images are such an important aspect of any website and have such a significant impact on user experience, it must strike a balance between implementing high-quality visuals and page load time. For example, you can use the Unsplash library of free stock pictures to enhance the efficiency of your flexible site.

Make It Simple to Use

If you want to appear professional and develop trust, you must have a consistent browsing experience. As part of the design process, your material should be easily accessible across all device kinds. As a result, everything of your site's material, including the price table, navigation menu, and contact information, should be easy to find and use, even for mobile customers.

Whitespace Should be Created

Allow space for your content to breathe. This refers to putting some space between your page's elements and sections. Adjust your font sizes and line spacing to the relative amount of so-called whitespace by adjusting your padding and margin settings. When building a mobile website, don't overcrowd your screen. Make use of the extra space to break up your material and give a more comfortable reading experience for your readers on smaller devices.

Make It Simple to Navigate

Because it has such a large impact on the quality of the user experience, easy navigation is one of the most difficult components of a responsive website. You must develop a clear navigation experience for your viewers when designing responsive websites.

Do you realize menus are crucial in determining whether or not your navigation is user-friendly? Aside from that, double-check that your visitors will not encounter any alignment issues or reversal column ordering. This distinguishes successful responsive websites from ones that aren't.

Carry Out Routine Testing

Any website should be tested regularly to ensure that no changes are required. You must ensure that the responsive experience on your website works on any device. Spend some time there browsing, interacting with your design, or doing an A/B test to improve it.

Create a Responsive Website with Strikingly

In minutes, you can create a free website with Strikingly. You don't need to know how to code or have a web design degree to get started. Because Strikingly makes editing easy, you may use it to create and personalize your websites. The Strikingly website editor's drag-and-drop feature is important since it allows you to easily move content, pictures, and objects throughout your website. Doesn't it sound amazing?

Surprisingly, a big internet company with over 3 million members globally offers you to construct a personal website that will help you stand out from the crowd.

Strikingly gives a great user experience with modern and mobile responsive websites models from the premier responsive website maker. All of Strikingly's website designs are instantly responsive. It's a user-centric design technique that allows a website to adjust based on user activity and the device, screen size, and platform utilized to show site information, making it more responsive to its visitors.

Responsive layouts are used on websites that leverage sophisticated programming questions. Depending on whether a web visitor is using a mobile phone or a laptop, the website should transition and adjust its resolution, scripting, and picture sizes.

Responsive Web Design Examples

Responsive web design aids in creating consistent user experiences across platforms and devices. Here is the list of responsive web design examples built with Strikingly.