In this day in age, mobile devices are everywhere. Hosting a website with a mobile equivalent is essential in today’s business environment. Specifically, a website's layout should no longer be constrained to a desktop platform, nor should the design be developed to support specific devices. An adaptive website creates a more positive user experience and proves to be highly beneficial in terms of first impressions and engagement. In today's business environment, dynamic, flexible layouts reign supreme. This post aims to provide you with the information you need to help your business dive into this simple yet highly technical design approach.
- Forgo the idea of prescribed sizes. In responsive web design, one size cannot fit all, nor can a hodgepodge of custom resolutions tailored to each device. One must think and design in terms of infinite scaling, with a flexible layout that encompasses both portrait and landscape orientations on a vast range of mobile and desktop platforms. A well-known example of such a dynamic design can be found in Kinja, the platform on which news sites such as Gizmodo, Jalopnik, and Gawker are based. Visit any of those blogs on a desktop, then promptly open them on mobile. You will find the same website with a dynamic design.
- Distinguish between touch versus cursor input. Touchscreens are increasingly being used as a way for people to quickly access Internet content. In 2014, mobile platforms overtook desktops as the most popular way to access websites and are rapidly approaching 2 billion users worldwide. Adaptive web design is an intuitive way to navigate via touch on mobile, and via cursor on desktops. Small details, such as further information via cursor hovers can be implemented only on desktops. Hidden submenus can only be implemented on mobile. These details can be captured through responsive web design.
- Think future-ready. If you are not going mobile, you're not going anywhere. Using social media to initially attract audiences and email marketing to nurture prospects, there are endless opportunities for users to access your webpage on the go. If Apple releases a new iPad with a different resolution, will your website display your efforts correctly? A website that is adaptive to today's mobile devices must be easily transposed to tomorrow's release with minimal effort.
- Percentages, not pixels. Without delving too far into development, CSS, one of the major backbones of responsive web design, introduced methods allowing for flexible layout and media integration into its framework. All in all, pixels and inches are not dominant in the sizing of each website component, but rather percentages. The sheer range of resolutions and display sizes prohibit fixed numbers from being responsive.
- Be a master of platforms. Many website visitors will still access pages via legacy, or outdated platforms. Make your site’s navigation work just as well on an iPhone 4S as it would on the latest 6S release. Mobile and desktop users will benefit from this ethos. Apply a progressive development technique to test your site’s adaptability. Use mobile platforms as your sandbox; this will allow you to fine tune your website using a ground-up approach. It’s much easier to convert a website meant for a small screen to a large one.
- We can’t have two, three, infinite Internets. There are a number of website owners who believe that a site built for a desktop should not be accessed via smart phone. This belief can easily be dispelled in favor of a foundational website that has queries (tags) to differentiate between devices, rather than developing websites for every platform under the sun. Adopting a singular standard is the norm. Taking this approach will allow your firm to instantly reap the benefits of developing a more sustainable, minimal, modular platform.
- Responsive web design is evolving. To ensure a seamless user experience, one must always optimize. Regularly keep up with new development and design techniques to discover new and exciting solutions. Taking this approach will lead to a much better return on your investment.
What is your experience with responsive web design? Share your experience with our audiences in the comments section.
Contact Colosi Marketing today and let us help your firm plan for a dynamic, responsive web design.
