The evolution of mobile technology has compelled a large pool of online players to build a design that fits gracefully on a variety of devices. The design here we are talking about is know as “Responsive Web Design”. Responsive Web Design is a concept that has come a long way to provide webmasters all the necessary tools and support to create a design that works flawlessly across a range of mobile devices. The creators of such design play around with flexible images so they fit easily with different orientations.
Considering the pace at which mobile phones are leapfrogging desktops, it has become indispensable to upkeep your website with the responsive design so that it can accept users who are landing there from a wide range of devices with divergent screen sizes and resolutions. However, creating a responsive design is an arduous journey. One needs to understand the nuts and bolts of the entire process to ensure an impeccable execution. Designers need to broaden their scope to think beyond resolutions and screen sizes to come up something that actually engages their audience and pique their interest.
In this article, I have compiled a list of some best practices that you might find useful while creating a responsive web design. Armed with this knowledge, you’ll be able to create a design that’s nice and flexible enough to render a rich user experience.
1. Responsive Navigation Menus:
One of the hardest parts of responsive design is navigation. The growing number of assorted array of devices further complicates this process. This is an issue because users of small devices feel an entirely different navigation experience than those who own large screen devices. Designers need to understand this fact and then plan out strategies accordingly. Designing a menu for small-screens require you to view and test it properly whether it fits accurately on the device or not. In my opinion a better approach towards this can be using drop-down menus to display navigation. It’s a logical approach one can opt for to give the screen a clutter-free appearance by hiding a long list of items. Just like this:
2. Treating “Text” and “Buttons” Individually:
Designers in their quest of exploring technologies like responsive web design needs to ensure that they are better prepare to treat text and buttons as separate entities. Desktop websites can have large buttons and clickable links. They are great to enhance a user experience on a website. But, when it comes to creating a mobile version of a website, it is critical to design buttons and links that are not only easy to click, but can also be distinguished from each other and with that of the website.
In addition, one must put efforts designing buttons and text links that look consistent across a variety of devices such as smartphones, desktop, and tablet devices.
3. Compressing Site Elements and Content:
Using programs such as GZIP can be very helpful when it comes to compressing your web page for smooth transmission across an array of networks. Reducing the number of bytes per page or elements helps you to give a boost to your website performance when accessed from devices with different bandwidth rates.
Additionally, you can enhance the speed overall speed of a website by getting rid of unwanted white space and line breaks. It’s an intelligent approach to lower file sizes and keep things well-organized.
4. Pay Attention To Lines and Font Sizes:
Irrespective of how beguiling your chosen font is, the way it should be executed can really make or break your design. That is why it is important to pay attention to how a text should be rendered on multiple devices. While creating a responsive web, designers must know ways to create a harmony between the line height and text size. This is pivotal to improve the readability of a website. Invest some time to analyze how your type looks when viewed on smaller devices. Also, avoid making line height too tight for a better user experience. You can also choose small size fonts for smaller and large fonts for larger devices.
To Conclude:
The above mentioned are just some of the proven practices you can try out to make your responsive design stand out. To make your responsive design work well, make sure it is well compressed, not jam packed with unnecessary elements, and provide a pleasurable mobile browsing experience to your visitors.
About The Author
GREAT.GUIDE
I’m a huge fan of responsive design! I study a lot about responsive design techniues and related topics to understand the best practices available.
I’ve learned from Echo Surge that at the end of 2012, over 50 million Americans owned a tablet and 1 of every 3 minutes spent consuming digital media was on a mobile device. With all of this mobile use, having a website that is responsive is becoming a requirement, not an option. So, responsive design is the must for today’s digital world.
Few questions:
– What is your view on using a seperate mobile website rather than a responsive design?
– Is there any pre-built design template you will recommend?
I’m going to implement your tips when I start optimizing a website. Bookmarking this article!
Thank you, Ava!
Good points!
Now days the standard require you to have responsive website.
Do you have any tips to make your old client convert into responsive web design?
Thanks