A properly functioning website is a must-have for every business today. It is the virtual ‘front door’ to you and your products/services. So not just any website will do. An important factor in building a successful website that meets your customers’ needs is ensuring it features responsive web design.
This article will explore why responsive web design is crucial for business owners today.
What is responsive web design?
Think of responsive website design like water. Water (or a website) adapts to fit whatever container (or screen) it’s in. Whether the website is viewed on a desktop, smartphone, or tablet, responsive web design ensures it looks and works well on any device. This improves user experience (UX), making your site accessible and easy to navigate for everyone, no matter their device.
Responsive design: fluidity and flexibility
Let’s get technical for a moment. Responsive design is built on three main components:
- fluid grids,
- flexible images, and
- media queries.
Fluid grids allow your site’s layout to scale and shift to suit your users’ screen size.
Flexible images adjust so they always look right and are never distorted or out of place. Another advantage of flexible images is that your website uses smaller image files for the mobile version of your phone. This reduces bandwidth usage and speeds up your site for users.
Media queries check the size of your user’s screen so that your website knows how to display the fluid grids and flexible images.
This combination ensures your website is easy to use and looks great on any device.
Why your business can’t afford to ignore responsive web design
Did you know that more than half of all web traffic comes from mobile devices? If you have a website that doesn’t use responsive web design you’re locking out half your potential customers!
Search engines, including Google and Bing, prefer sites that work well on mobile. This means incorporating responsive web design will help improve your search rankings. In fact, Google now uses the mobile version of your website first, to evaluate and rank your site.
Ensuring you have a responsive website improves your users’ experience and increases engagement, thereby increasing the likelihood of sales. Responsive web design is critical for reaching and engaging your customers today.
Making the shift: building or updating to a responsive website
Implementing responsive web design might seem daunting, but don’t panic.
Whether you’re starting from scratch or updating an existing site, the first step is always planning. Identify your main content and how it should stack or rearrange on different devices.
Next, choose a responsive framework or template that aligns with your design needs.
Development follows, with a focus on flexible grids and images, plus the implementation of media queries.
The time and investment required will vary depending on the complexity of your site. Hiring a professional can save you time and ensure high-quality results.
Best practices and common pitfalls of responsive web design
One significant factor in successful responsive web design is simplicity. Start by focusing on essential elements and functionality. While you want to provide equivalent functionality, not everything from the desktop version needs to or should appear on mobile.
Loading time is crucial on mobile devices, so optimise images and prioritise mobile design to keep your site speedy.
A common pitfall when creating responsive web design is not testing your site on actual devices. While emulators are useful, nothing beats real-world testing to catch unexpected issues.
Another mistake is overlooking content hierarchy. You need to ensure your most important information and functionality is easily accessible regardless of the device.
Wrapping up
Responsive web design isn’t just a trend; it’s a necessity in today’s mobile-first world. By ensuring your website is accessible and user-friendly on any device, you’re opening your business to a larger customer base and improving your chances of making a sale.
If you’re unsure where to start or need help making your site responsive, Banjo Digital is here to assist. All of our website builds implement responsive web design as standard practice. If you already have a site, we can redesign and rebuild it to improve your online presence and revitalise your business.
Contact us today to learn how we can help transform your website into a powerful sales tool that gets results.