There is no denying it – mobile devices are becoming more and more popular by the day. Things like iWatches, smartphones and tablets are definitely the way to go. So, why should web designers care? Well, unless you are going to be designing websites for users who do not own any mobile devices (which is definitely not the case), you will have to be able to design websites that are responsive.
The basics
Responsive Website Design (also simply called RWD) will automatically adjust to the specific screen of the user (whether it is a desktop computer or some other mobile device). This means that RWD offers Internet users the best viewing experience by making it simpler to navigate their way around the website.
The importance of RWD
Recent research has in fact indicated that about 50% of all Internet users will wave goodbye to a website when it does not load on a mobile device correctly. So, you can just imagine what it will do to the conversions of a website! No business will be able to survive losing so many customers to their rivals and that just because of not boasting responsive website design.
Another perk of RWD is that web designers no longer have to waste time by designing and maintaining different websites for the different devices available on the market.
A few simple things to consider
It does not matter if a user is simply downloading a newsletter or buying a product, whatever it is that the user wishes to complete should be done without any difficulty. Any website that is hard to navigate will affect the conversion rating (and needless to say, not in a good way).
This counts for how quickly the different pages load too. Speed is really of the essence. So, if a website fails to load in a matter of seconds, that user will simply go to another website. As more resources will mean that the website will take longer to load, be sure to keep the content that will appear on the pages as straightforward as possible.
That being said, if you add any call-to-action buttons make sure that these buttons are in fact big enough for a smartphone’s screen. If these buttons are too small to click, the visitor will not even bother trying.
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Lastly, web designers should always test their responsive websites before launching it. Failing to test is one of the things that will spoil your responsive web design efforts. A few web designers still think that testing is not as important, but by investigating your website properly you can right away fix a problem which could save you a lot of money and time.
Nowadays customers want more. A good product or service is no longer good enough. Customers want to enjoy a good user experience too. As a matter of fact, RWD is not only important to customers… Google loves websites that are responsive.
So, ensure that users can enjoy that great user experience that they are demanding (and keep Google happy too) by creating responsive websites.
Related Article from Melbourne Web Designer: 10 Principles of Good Website Design
