A Website That Is Not Responsive

The Covid-19 pandemic led to the biggest shift of activity ever recorded in the history of the world wide web. Between March and April 2020, Google search volumes for “ web tasarım ”, “web development” and “responsive web design” were 18%, 25% and 29% greater than before the pandemic. As businesses and organizations rebuild their sites, it is paramount to ensure that their new websites work on all devices. To meet this need, web designers have developed new platforms, such as the responsive web design.

Why should you go for a responsive design?

Creating a site with a responsive design enables site owners to optimize their websites for viewing on all devices. This can be extremely beneficial for businesses whose core audience uses mobile devices or browsers to access the web. A responsive site, for example, will provide a better viewing experience to anyone who uses a small mobile device to browse the web.

In addition to making your site accessible on all devices, a responsive design will make it easy for potential customers to find what they are looking for. When a user lands on a website and the web design is not responsive, it can be difficult to understand what they are looking at as the site will not be displayed in a neat and tidy manner on a small screen.

Different types of responsive designs

While all websites should be mobile friendly, not all mobile friendly websites will be responsive. A responsive web design should always respond to various screen resolutions and browser window sizes to provide an optimal user experience.

A few years back, designers would create a separate website for each different platform or device. Today, thanks to CSS, it is possible to create a single website that will look as good as the original, when displayed on any device. Because of this versatility, a responsive design is highly in demand due to the growth of mobile commerce and social media.

Key benefits of a responsive design

Aside from ensuring that your website looks the same on all devices, a responsive design provides a number of advantages.

Firstly, by reducing the number of HTTP requests and improving website loading speeds, a responsive design can increase conversion rates. Secondly, thanks to its “skin” in CSS, a responsive design can easily be updated with the latest web standards while maintaining its previous appearance. Thirdly, a responsive site provides a more engaging experience for users as content is always displayed in a clear and concise manner. Finally, with a responsive design, it is easier to add functionality to the site as plugins, such as WooCommerce, can be easily incorporated into the structure. This makes it simpler for businesses to provide a better online experience to customers.

How does a responsive design work?

In order to create a responsive website or app, you will begin by setting a maximum width for the browser window. This is to ensure that content does not run on off-screen when displayed on a mobile device. For example, if you set the maximum width to be 400 pixels, the website will not display any content outside of this threshold. Once you have set the maximum width, you will need to create a new set of styles based on this measurement. This is to ensure that your site always looks the same, regardless of the screen resolution. If you use a CSS framework, such as Bootstrap, it will make this process easier.

When a user visits your site on a smaller screen, such as a mobile device, the content will be displayed in a stack, with the most important content located near the top. The advantage of this is that it makes it easier for the user to find what they are looking for as there is less content required to be displayed on a smaller screen. The most important thing to note here is that once the content is displayed in a stack, scrolling is not required as the user can simply view the whole content by scrolling up. This is in contrast to a site where scrolling is required to view all content as it is not automatically stacked on smaller screens. This not only improves usability but also enhances the user experience as there is less chance of the user feeling frustrated as they cannot access all of the content due to the site's design.

Responsive design best practices

Aside from ensuring that your website looks the same on all devices, a responsive design will make it easy for potential customers to find what they are looking for. To achieve this, you must adhere to a number of best practices. These include:

Creating a separate mobile website or app;
Focusing on content first, rather than design;
Keeping the number of page views low;
Stocking only essential content on each page; and
Saving the most important content at the top of the page.

If these tips are followed, you will have a site that is easy to use on all devices and does not require constant attention. To learn more, check out the Responsive Design Best Practices by W3C (World Wide Web Consortium).

In addition to ensuring that your website looks the same as the original on all devices, a responsive design makes it easy for anyone to update content on the site while maintaining its previous appearance. This is especially useful for businesses that want to keep their site content up to date while still keeping the same basic design.

Lastly, with a responsive design, it is easier to add functionality to the site as plugins, such as WooCommerce, can be easily incorporated into the structure. This makes it simpler for businesses to provide a better online experience to customers.

Why should you consider a WordPress website over other content management systems?

Creating a separate mobile website or app;
Focusing on content first, rather than design;
Keeping the number of page views low;
Stocking only essential content on each page; and
Saving the most important content at the top of the page.

Creating a mobile-friendly website or app is still not enough as people will only visit your site or app from a mobile device. This is where the importance of a responsive design comes in as it makes it easier for potential customers to find what they are looking for. Because of this, a responsive design is popular among businesses as it provides several benefits and is simple to update.