Responsive website design: be present on mobile!

The rise of tablets and mobile has been a topic for years. Many people may think it's a dead issue, but in reality, a significant number of websites and companies are still not prepared for their visitors to find them on mobile. Responsive website design can help users have the same high quality experience on mobile devices as they do on desktop. What does it mean to have a responsive site and what are the benefits? That's what this blog post is all about!

Changing content consumption habits

According to a survey by zippia.com, by 2022, 85% of US adults will own a smartphone and spend almost 5.5 hours a day on their device. That's a staggering figure, almost as much time as we spend sleeping and working. Smartphone use is almost addictive, as shown by the fact that people check their mobile every 10 minutes or so to see if something has happened, if they have a notification, a message, or if someone has called them.

Smartphones have clearly changed consumer habits, with more than 62% of website traffic now coming from mobile devices, according to the above-mentioned survey. This is particularly important information for companies that want to reach users, potential customers and clients in an effective way.

The display of websites and content on mobile devices is therefore just as important, and may even become more important, than desktop display. This is especially important in the light of the fact that today's users are not patient, if a website does not load or is not usable on mobile, they simply navigate away and try their luck with the competition.

Now that we see the importance of mobile responsiveness, let's take a look at what it really means for a website to be responsive!

What does it mean if a website is responsive?

Ethan Marcotte - he was the web designer who realised that web design methods require a different approach and their importance cannot be trivialised. His work fundamentally changed what we knew and thought about website design, and so responsive website design was born.

The essence of a responsive website is that no multimedia device will work on it, because it fits perfectly on all screens, regardless of resolution, whether it's a smartphone, laptop, monitor or tablet.

The possibilities of responsive website building

When building a responsive website, developers have two options: one is to work from a template and the other is to develop a custom site. Let's learn about the two approaches!

Responsive website creation based on template

Template-based websites are typically built on a lower budget and in many cases take less time to develop. Responsive website building is based on a template, which has certain limitations that should be understood before anyone starts. There are specific and universal templates, but in many cases they bleed in terms of speed, as they also contain a lot of unnecessary code.

The development process is simple: the client chooses a template that fits the theme and content, the developers customise the template as much as possible, the site is built and the content is uploaded. The degree of flexibility is determined by the template, but in most cases the leash is quite short.
 
Their advantage is that they are quick to create and low cost, but their disadvantage is low customisation, modest website performance, slow loading speed and, last but not least, it is difficult to stand out from the competition with a template site.

The custom responsive website builder

The sky's the limit when it comes to a custom-developed responsive website. The client can dream and design, and the developers can implement it all within reason. Every element of the website is tailored to the client's needs, there are no compromises, no limits, no constraints.

In this case, the process of building a responsive website is somewhat more complex. The first step is to assess the needs, design the website and then create the design. During the custom development process, programmers may face several challenges. For example, the design needs to be optimised for multiple screen sizes, the design has to be designed to look good on each device, which is an extra investment of energy, and time has to be spent optimising resolutions, including optimisation for retina displays.

The classic approach to responsive website design is to build the desktop version first, followed by mobile and other versions. But the new trend, mobile-first, overrides this, saying that because users are often more active on mobile, it makes sense to create this view first and then the desktop. This will result in much more user-friendly mobile designs.

What are the benefits of responsive web design?

Here are some of the benefits of responsive website development!

Optimised for mobile

 responsive website means that the site can adapt flexibly to the size of the screen, whether it's a smartphone or a TV. Most people talk about responsive websites in the context of smartphone use, and the reason is that it has become significantly easier for companies to produce enjoyable content for mobile. Previously, this required a dedicated mobile website. But a responsive, mobile-compatible site solves this problem.

Excellent user experience 

The website development method allows you to browse the site on all devices with the same experience. This also means you don't have to worry about something not displaying nicely on mobile or even a larger screen. The look and feel and the elements will be consistent, which will go a long way to creating a positive brand image. This helps to reduce bounce rates and increase conversion rates.

A good investment

It is true that developing a responsive website is more expensive, but it should be seen as an investment that will pay off in the long run, so it is a cost-effective solution. There is no getting around mobile today, but the worst thing is to have a website available on mobile but not loading, falling apart, opaque. The user will then never return, probably not even on a desktop, let alone a mobile device.

Simple treatment

From the client's point of view, it is not unimportant how much trouble and time it will take to maintain the website once it is up and running. In the case of a mobile-friendly website, it's very simple, just update the content in one place, it will be updated on multiple multimedia versions.

Google’s friend

Companies that want to win the battle against the competition cannot avoid devoting time and effort to SEO. The good news is that Google favours responsive sites, which is half the battle in itself.

What are the 4 key elements that are essential for building a responsive website?

• Fluid grid, flexible layout: the basis of a responsive website is the flexibility to adapt its size to the display. It dynamically resizes depending on the size you need.
• Flexible images: images are an important element of a website, without them it is much harder to capture attention and convey emotions. On a responsive website, you can change the width of the images while maintaining the same aspect ratio.
• CSS media query: the heart and soul of mobile-optimised site technology is the CSS media query. It allows the page to recognise the screen size the user is viewing and thus display beautifully on any screen.
• Javascript: javascript is needed because not all browsers can handle responsive pages, so in some cases traditional solutions have to be used.

How can you tell if a website is responsive?

To cut to the chase, you could simply pick up your mobile phone and search for the page. If the dimensions of the page do not fit the screen, then there is a good chance that it is not mobile-friendly.

But there are more sophisticated methods. On Google's website, you can find out if a page is responsive by inserting the URL with a click.

Website development with Meraki

At Meraki, we know that a website is not just something you do for fun, it's not there to be created, it's there to support sales. A website is therefore a tool to be used wisely. With this in mind, we create strategy-driven websites that support our clients on their path to success.

Why Meraki?

• We offer custom solutions, but we're also good with templates.
• We follow the trends and where website development is going.
• We provide a complete implementation service: UX/UI design, development, graphic design, search engine optimization, copywriting, project management.

Find out who we've worked with we've worked with!