Responsive Web Design – Websites that look bad when they are viewed on mobile are non-responsive. These websites decrease the market value of the brand which is not a very good thing. That is why Websites are made Responsive now so that they can be viewed on any screen.
In this article, we will discuss What is Responsive Web Design, why Responsive Design is Important, what are the benefits of Responsive Web Design, and some of its key principles.
Responsive Web Design
Table of Content
What is Responsive Web Design?
Responsive Web Design is designing websites that contain flexible layouts that can scale itself according to the screen size of the device it is being viewed on. A Responsive Web Design enlarges, shrinks, resizes, or hides content present as per the screen size of the device. Using websites that look bad on the screen can be displeasing for the users and they might just close and stop using that specific website.
Making a Responsive Web Design can make the websites fit themselves according to the screen and is a trend that most brands follow with their websites. Some content gets hidden or some goes behind some specific gestures like drop-down or swipe left. It only uses one layout for a web page and it can be done either using CSS and HTML or CSS3 and HTML5.
Importance of Responsive Web Design
If we are using websites that look the same on every screen size, it might be bad for the viewers as it can decrease their interest in the website and the brand. A brand that uses a non-responsive website loses customers as not every customer has the same system to open a website. Making your website responsive helps the brand to increase its customers from different platforms and helps them to build trust from a variety of users.
Using a Responsive Web Design for a website can help the brand to set its unique and positive identity in the market as customers can visit that specific website through different devices and the experience will still be good.
How to create a Responsive Web Design?
In order to create a Responsive Web Design, you need to follow the following steps:
Step 1: Using Fluid Grids
Use fluid grid systems instead of using fixed-width layouts. This allows the layout to adjust fluidly based on the screen size.
Step 2: Using Flexible Images
Ensure that images and media content scale within their containing elements by using CSS properties.
Step 3: Apply Media Queries
Utilize media queries to adjust different CSS styles such as width, orientation and resolution.
Step 4:Prioritizing Touchscreens
Make button sizes adequate for finger tapping or ensure easily accessible navigational elements on smaller screens ensuring website’s design is touch-friendly.
Step 5: Test Responsiveness
Continuously testing website’s responsiveness across different devices and browsers.
Benefits of Responsive Web Design
There are several benefits of using a Responsive Web Design:
- Reduces Bounce Rate: Having a Responsive Website can help the brand to reduce the bounce rate on their website as it can be viewed on any device.
- Mobile Friendly: Responsive Websites are mobile friendly as they’re designed in a way their layout changes on mobiles and tablets when they’re being viewed on.
- Increases Traffic: Having Responsive websites increases the traffic as viewers can open the website from multiple different devices and can use the website efficiently.
- Enhanced User Experience: It is one of the major advantage of responsive websites as the users can get a good experience of using the website through multiple devices which gives the brand a good look in the viewer’s eyes.
- Enhances SEO: Having a Responsive website can help the brand to rank their website higher on SERPs as the traffic and UX is good on the website.
Key Principles of Responsive Design
The Key Principles of a Responsive Web Design are:
- Can be viewed on Multiple Devices: The Website should be designed in a way that they can be opened and viewed on multiple devices such as Mobiles, Tablets, PCs, etc.
- Easy to understand: Make websites easy to understand for users so that they can use all the features without getting confused or lost. Features shoould be placed in a way that the website should look neat and every element is clearly visible.
- Consistency: A general consistency should be maintained throughout the website for every layout size so that it looks neat.
- User Engagement: Allowing user to explore and control certain aspects of websites builds trust of the user. For exmaple swiping for menus on mobile screen that are usually visible on the left bar on PC.
Best Practices for Responsive Web Design
Some of the best practices for a responsive web design that you can follow are:
- Mobile-First Approach: Design for the smallest screen size possible first and then optimise the design for larger screens. T ensuring that website is accessible for mobile users, who make up a significant amount of web traffic.
- Accessible Content: Make your website accessible to all users, including those with disabilities. This includes proper use of HTML semantic elements, ensuring keyboard navigability, and providing alternative text for images.
- Responsive Media: Media elements should be able to resize themselves to fit within the confines of the user’s device.
- Landscape Orientation: Make sure to optimise your landscape orientation to improve usability.
- Stay Updated and Adapt: Stay informed about the latest developments in responsive design, and browser capabilities to continually refine and improve your website.
Uses of Responsive Web Design
Some of the uses of a Responsive Web Design are:
- Enhanced User Experience (UX): Ensures website is easily readable and navigable on any device. No need to pinch or zoom to read content.
- Lower Maintenance: Previously, businesses had to maintain two versions of their website: one for desktop and one for mobile. Responsive web design eliminates the need for a separate mobile site, reducing the time and cost associated with website maintenance.
- Faster Loading Time: Responsive websites tend to load faster, especially on mobile and other devices.
- Reduced Bounce Rate: A responsive mobile site provides a much better user experience for the visitor making them stick around for a longer duration of time and explore different areas of your site.
- SEO Advantages: A responsive websites is preferred from Google and other search engine.
Responsive Web Design – FAQs
What is Responsive Web Design?
Responsive Web Design is Designing website that can adjust it size of its layout according to the screen size of the viewer’s device.
Why is Responsive Design Important?
Responsive Web Design is important as not every viewer is opening the website through same device so the website should be responsive so that they can be viewed on any device regardless of the screen size.
What are some of the examples of a Responsive Web Design?
Some of the examples of a Responsive Web Design are:
- The Boston Globe: One of the first major news websites to adopt a responsive design.
- Airbnb: Offers a seamless user experience whether accessed on a smartphone, tablet, or desktop.
- Dropbox: Focuses on a minimalist design that is responsive, ensuring that both the content and navigation are clear and accessible on any device.
- GitHub: Utilizes a responsive web design to cater to developers worldwide.
- Smashing Magazine: A leading resource using responsive design to ensure that their articles, guides, and resources are easily accessible and readable on any screen size.
What are benefits of the Responsive Design?
Responsive Web Design helps the website to reduce the bounce rate, Increase traffic, Make the website mobile friendly, etc.
What are some Principles that should be followed when designing a responsive website?
Designs for multiple screen sizes should be made, the websites should be made so that they are easy to understand by the viewers on different screen, etc.