Surely you have heard about responsive web design, but do you really know what it is and how it works? Do not miss this article in which we explain it in detail.
What is a responsive website and how does it work?
A responsive website is one that adapts its design and rearranges its contents according to the size and orientation of the screen of the device used.
It is a web development technique that detects the screen width of the browser and adapts all the elements of the page to it. Menus, font sizes, images, etc.
The same HTML code is always sent to all devicesso there is no need to redirect the user and a single URL is maintained. The design and content adjusts to the device through CSS code.
As good practices, It is recommended to use responsive themes, set the size of the elements in relation to their container or the width of the view and the use of a CSS Grid structure..
Why do you need a responsive website?
In the last decade the number of devices we use to access the internet has grown unstoppably. Gone are the times when the PC was the only device that allowed us to connect to the network. Today We access the internet through our mobile phones, tablets, televisions, watches, refrigerators, etc..
This implies that the same website must be compatible with multiple devices, screen resolutions and browsers and take into account the content, design and performance in each of them to offer an optimal browsing experience.
The mobile-first era
According to him , the mobile is the most used device to surf the internet and visit web pages. So why do you keep focusing your website design on desktops and laptops?
Start your website design from mobile design and then progressively adapt it to larger screens. Enter the mobile-first era.
A better user experience (UX)
A responsive website seeks to optimize the user experience regardless of the device, resolution and browser used.
Whether it’s from a 4.5-inch smartphone or 27-inch desktop, from an 8k TV or low-resolution monitor, from Safari or Chrome, your website must work and be displayed correctly on any device.
A better navigation and user experience implies a happier user and a increase the chances that you will return to our website.
Lower costs and time savings
Unlike adaptive websites that have specific designs for each device, responsive websites have a single highly flexible design. Although the code used is more complex, saves a lot of development costs and time when updating content.
SEO
In April 2015 it updated its search algorithm and since then penalizes websites that do not have a responsive design. Also, from March 2021 it will use the , which uses the mobile version of websites for indexing and ranking.
If your website is not responsive, it will be more difficult to position in the search engine and you will lose an important source of traffic in addition to obtaining a high .
branding
We all know how important it is to make a good impression. but also your website and the content you publish on it must be presented consistently across all devices. In this way you facilitate brand recall and transmit greater security to the user.
What should you take into account to make your website responsive?
fonts
It is very different to read on a mobile and on a computer, so you must make sure that the size of your texts adjusts to the dimensions and orientation of each screen in order to increase legibility and offer the user a comfortable reading.
Images and videos
The size of images and videos must be proportional to the size of the screen on which they are displayed, preventing the material from being left out of the user’s visual spectrum. They also need to be adjusted when the user rotates the device.
upload speed
The loading time of a website is one of the fundamental factors that defines the bounce rate. Reduce the number of resources needed, remove unnecessary plugins and widgets, and optimize images and videos to minimize loading times.
As a guideline, it recommends that your mobile web be loaded on less than 3 seconds and weighing less than 500KB.
effects
For starters, forget about using Flash on your website. Leaving aside the high consumption of resources and loading times, it does not work on Android or iOS and last December and a year ago.
This demonstrates that We must ensure that the effects and animations that we apply to our website work correctly on all devices and that their impact on the user experience is positive. and not a nuisance.
Some examples of negative impact are pop-ups that take up the entire screen on mobile or the hover effect that literally does not work on mobile devices.
Continuous optimization
Every year new devices are launched with new features and new technologies emerge that force us to continually adapt our website to new formats. For this reason, you must carry out an optimization of your website continued over time.
If you don’t know where to start, there are many paid and free tools like Google, which determine the degree of responsiveness of your website and provide advice on how to improve it.
You can also use it to perform and improve the user experience of your website and do not forget to regularly consult your web analytics tool to identify usability problems in the design of your responsive website.
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