The buzz of responsive website design had already started some time back, but has reached its zenith this year.
The traditional way of designing a site for desktop and then making it work on mobile (or other) devices is simply not working anymore.
The bottom line is, and we cannot stress this enough, smart device-first is the ONLY way to go.
Wondering why? Because almost half of the web traffic is generated through a mobile platform (source: Search Engine Watch)!
Leveraging such a wide audience can produce a great impact on your business. But for that, you need to have a clear insight into making a responsive web design.
Of course, you can seek assistance from the experts at any website design company, nevertheless, you should do your homework first.
So, let’s start from the basics.
Once upon a time, responsive web design used to suggest mobile-friendly websites only. But with the advancement of technology, the term received a greater connotation. Now, it indicates the sites that can be accessed on any smart device.
A smart device can be as small as a watch or as big as a TV. The responsive websites can easily adjust to the specifications of multiple smart devices and remain equally functional and appealing across any device platform.
So, businesses need to ensure their sites look presentable and navigable across various smart devices, browsers, and operating systems.
But the real problem is how would you understand whether your site is working across devices?
No worry! We got you covered. Here is the ultimate checklist for a responsive website.
1. Run a Thorough Visual Testing
The images and texts should be perfectly aligned. Ensure that the content doesn’t exceed the edges of the screen.
If some part of the content is less important, you may choose to keep it “out-of-sight” on small devices. However, make sure the important part of the content remains visible across all platforms.
2. Mind the Typography
The typography must be compatible with varied platforms. The content is the heart of a website and should be readable and presentable across devices.
3. Test the Site on Multiple Devices and Browsers
This is a crucial part. Before your site goes live, it’s important to check its availability across browsers and devices. It will give you a clear insight into how the users can access your site.
Enhancing the User-Experience (UX) is central to a business. If you find any technical glitch while operating the site, you need to fix the issue ASAP.
4. Assess Traffic Data
Avail mobile and web traffic data from Google Analytics. Here you will learn which mobile devices and browsers are mostly used by the visitors to access your site. Now check how your site looks on these devices and browsers.
5. Check the Loading Speed
Do you know that 47% of people won’t wait for a page to load for more than 3 seconds! So, optimize your site loading speed if you don’t want to increase the bounce rate.
Compress large resources to display them appropriately on smaller devices. However, ensure that the quality is not reduced. You may also boost the site’s performance by using cache data.
6. Ensure Smooth Navigation for the Site
The navigation element must not overlap the edges of the screen. You may use the hamburger menu icon for hidden navigation. Such an intuitive interface can enables visitors to easily navigate through the website.
7. Examine Interactivity
Various control instruments like keyboard, stylus, mouse, and even fingertips are used while interacting with devices. Keep an eye on the accessibility and responsiveness of your site through these control means.
8. Review the Site Pop-ups
You should check whether the inline pop-ups and browser window pop-ups are responsive.
Now that you have learnt analyse your site’s responsiveness, let’s dig deeper.
In the next passage, we will explore the consistency in design assets. Your brand must maintain consistency in design across various media platforms. This is a crucial element in responsive web design.
Why?
Let’s explain it with an example. The moment you hear “Nike”, ”Apple”, or “Coca-Cola”; immediately you can visualize the logos of these brands, right? This is the power of memorable, strong, and consistent designs.
The design assets must look consistent across various platforms even after resizing or scaling. From icons to typography, colours to font - every aesthetic element of your site come under this category.
To avoid a negative brand impression, carefully test the following:
Fonts
Some fonts are likely to look uneven or clumsy when they are scaled up or down, or viewed on different browsers and devices.
For instance, Mac OS can properly set font-weight, whereas Windows cannot. Again, the fonts may appear to be somewhat slimmer on Safari as compared to Chrome.
So make sure to test fonts and evaluate them on the basis of the above-stated parameters.
Media Files and Colour
Make sure that different versions of an image are compatible with multiple browsers, viewport and device resolution.
You may use the Chrome Developer tools to check if the images can adversely affect the performance of the website.
Also, identify if there are colour inconsistencies and fix them. For a better understanding, you may take a look at the importance of colour theory in website designs.
Code
Here’s a basic checklist to support you in the code-testing procedure:
-Check if several browsers support a particular JS, HTML, or CSS property.
-Look for any visual discrepancies after writing the codes. Pay proper attention to the following:
Note that several factors including the browser engine, display resolution, and GPU play a significant role in determining how the end-users perceive the site. So, if you are not much tech-savvy, it’s better to consult a reputed website development company.
Conclusion
Responsive web design needs to be updated regularly depending on the technological developments. Continue to test your site for responsiveness on various devices, browsers, and operating systems.
Remember, an eye-opening survey by Infront reveals that about 94% of people won’t rely on a website if it has poor design and accessibility!
So, put your best efforts to set the first impression. And for any little help, we are always there!
The traditional way of designing a site for desktop and then making it work on mobile (or other) devices is simply not working anymore.
The bottom line is, and we cannot stress this enough, smart device-first is the ONLY way to go.
Wondering why? Because almost half of the web traffic is generated through a mobile platform (source: Search Engine Watch)!
Leveraging such a wide audience can produce a great impact on your business. But for that, you need to have a clear insight into making a responsive web design.
Of course, you can seek assistance from the experts at any website design company, nevertheless, you should do your homework first.
So, let’s start from the basics.
What is a Responsive Web Design - An Overview
Once upon a time, responsive web design used to suggest mobile-friendly websites only. But with the advancement of technology, the term received a greater connotation. Now, it indicates the sites that can be accessed on any smart device.
A smart device can be as small as a watch or as big as a TV. The responsive websites can easily adjust to the specifications of multiple smart devices and remain equally functional and appealing across any device platform.
So, businesses need to ensure their sites look presentable and navigable across various smart devices, browsers, and operating systems.
But the real problem is how would you understand whether your site is working across devices?
No worry! We got you covered. Here is the ultimate checklist for a responsive website.
1. Run a Thorough Visual Testing
The images and texts should be perfectly aligned. Ensure that the content doesn’t exceed the edges of the screen.
If some part of the content is less important, you may choose to keep it “out-of-sight” on small devices. However, make sure the important part of the content remains visible across all platforms.
2. Mind the Typography
The typography must be compatible with varied platforms. The content is the heart of a website and should be readable and presentable across devices.
3. Test the Site on Multiple Devices and Browsers
This is a crucial part. Before your site goes live, it’s important to check its availability across browsers and devices. It will give you a clear insight into how the users can access your site.
Enhancing the User-Experience (UX) is central to a business. If you find any technical glitch while operating the site, you need to fix the issue ASAP.
4. Assess Traffic Data
Avail mobile and web traffic data from Google Analytics. Here you will learn which mobile devices and browsers are mostly used by the visitors to access your site. Now check how your site looks on these devices and browsers.
5. Check the Loading Speed
Do you know that 47% of people won’t wait for a page to load for more than 3 seconds! So, optimize your site loading speed if you don’t want to increase the bounce rate.
Compress large resources to display them appropriately on smaller devices. However, ensure that the quality is not reduced. You may also boost the site’s performance by using cache data.
6. Ensure Smooth Navigation for the Site
The navigation element must not overlap the edges of the screen. You may use the hamburger menu icon for hidden navigation. Such an intuitive interface can enables visitors to easily navigate through the website.
7. Examine Interactivity
Various control instruments like keyboard, stylus, mouse, and even fingertips are used while interacting with devices. Keep an eye on the accessibility and responsiveness of your site through these control means.
8. Review the Site Pop-ups
You should check whether the inline pop-ups and browser window pop-ups are responsive.
Now that you have learnt analyse your site’s responsiveness, let’s dig deeper.
In the next passage, we will explore the consistency in design assets. Your brand must maintain consistency in design across various media platforms. This is a crucial element in responsive web design.
Why?
Let’s explain it with an example. The moment you hear “Nike”, ”Apple”, or “Coca-Cola”; immediately you can visualize the logos of these brands, right? This is the power of memorable, strong, and consistent designs.
The design assets must look consistent across various platforms even after resizing or scaling. From icons to typography, colours to font - every aesthetic element of your site come under this category.
To avoid a negative brand impression, carefully test the following:
Fonts
Some fonts are likely to look uneven or clumsy when they are scaled up or down, or viewed on different browsers and devices.
For instance, Mac OS can properly set font-weight, whereas Windows cannot. Again, the fonts may appear to be somewhat slimmer on Safari as compared to Chrome.
So make sure to test fonts and evaluate them on the basis of the above-stated parameters.
Media Files and Colour
Make sure that different versions of an image are compatible with multiple browsers, viewport and device resolution.
You may use the Chrome Developer tools to check if the images can adversely affect the performance of the website.
Also, identify if there are colour inconsistencies and fix them. For a better understanding, you may take a look at the importance of colour theory in website designs.
Code
Here’s a basic checklist to support you in the code-testing procedure:
-Check if several browsers support a particular JS, HTML, or CSS property.
-Look for any visual discrepancies after writing the codes. Pay proper attention to the following:
- Spacing - The elements or content must not run over each other.
- Alignment - Ensure that the dynamic elements are aligned properly.
- Layout - Check if the entire layout is compatible with various sizes of the viewport.
- Horizontal Scroll - Look for the long links that make horizontal scrolling mandatory on the small-sized screens. These may affect the readability and user experience. Also, test text legibility on different browsers and viewport.
- Adjustable Format - Make sure to adjust the site elements on the basis of the viewport size. Check if the elements can be easily made to hide, appear, or get re-sized.
- Responsive Image - The images should adequately fit within their allotted spaces. Optimize the CSS and JS images; compress or minimize them without affecting quality.
Note that several factors including the browser engine, display resolution, and GPU play a significant role in determining how the end-users perceive the site. So, if you are not much tech-savvy, it’s better to consult a reputed website development company.
Conclusion
Responsive web design needs to be updated regularly depending on the technological developments. Continue to test your site for responsiveness on various devices, browsers, and operating systems.
Remember, an eye-opening survey by Infront reveals that about 94% of people won’t rely on a website if it has poor design and accessibility!
So, put your best efforts to set the first impression. And for any little help, we are always there!
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