5 Tips for Converting to a Responsive Website Design.

7/28/2015

Responsive design is the implementation of several website technologies that allow for your site to display more efficiently across different screen sizes. This makes your site more friendly to mobile and tablet users, now constituting more than 64% of the United States population.

No longer a trend, but an industry standard. It's important to meet the expansive growth of mobile.

Having a website that doesn't provide an effective experience for mobile device users is a serious problem in today's business world. Not only does Google penalize sites that aren't mobile friendly, but their ranking algorithms will take into account the experiences those users have on your site.

Reduced search engine results placings can negatively impact your business in a huge way. If your website isn't responsive, you're not just behind anymore. The most effective websites provide content and design on mobile devices that meet or exceed the quality of their desktop browsing experience. Positive user experiences coupled with high quality, relevant content will net you increased results placement.

Make sure your responsive experience isn't cluttered and confusing.

Whether you have already taken the plunge, or are considering updating your site to responsive, it's important to make sure your site takes the following into consideration:

  • At reduced widths, a website header area filled with menus, links, logos and content can become very crowded. Careful thought should be given to how this area of your site appears, and what items remain visible. It's critical that your header area doesn't take up the whole of someones screen, or they won't be able to discern different pages as they navigate your site.

  • Scrolling is expected, but craft your content for a one column experience. Squashing your pages to fit low-width screens often won't provide a great experience. Sub menus and drop down menus must be carefully presented. Make sure images are correctly aligned and spaced. Videos, data tables, and charts might need re-thinking altogether.

  • Your website should deliver the most important and critical information to its users. Users on the go need to find information quickly and efficiently. Wading through unnecessary content or dealing with poorly designed navigation helps drive users away from your site to other options. Part of your process for becoming mobile friendly should involve "cutting the fat" from your web experience. Determine the core purposes of your site, and design for those users.

  • If you feel your site needs a design overhaul in order to effectively reach a mobile audience, design with your users in mind from the start. This also helps improve the experience for desktop users, since your site will become as refined as possible to cater to the needs of your audience. Use your Google Analytics data to help with the responsive decision making process.

  • Optimize for low bandwidth. The speed of your pages loading is taken into consideration with search ranking algorithms. Google provides a tool for developers that you can use to determine where to make improvements.

If you would like to discuss this article, or if you have any other website related questions, feel free to give us a call at 1-888-483-2383. One of our website experts will be happy to chat with you today, just mention this article for a free consultation!

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