WHAT IS RESPONSIVE OR ADAPTIVE DESIGN?

El responsive web design make reference to how our website looks on mobiles and other devices such as tablets, with a screen size smaller than the standards of desktop and laptop computers.

Through various development techniques, we will dynamically adapt the web design depending on the screen resolution from the visitor, without needing to have two separate sites, one for mobiles and another for desktop, allowing correct viewing of the same page on different devices, from desktop computers to tablets and smartphones.

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

Until just a few years ago, using a computer was essential to browse the internet. Now, however, we find a multitude of devices with which we can access the World Wide Web: tablets, smartphones, televisions, and even refrigerators!

Selling tablets and smartphones It has already surpassed that of desktop and laptop computers, which, together with the improvement of 3G connections and the boost from 4G, means that these devices are being used more and more every day. to connect to the Internet, assuming between 25% and a 30% of total trafficrising to 35% for e-commerce, according to the mobile traffic report prepared by Walker Sands

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

Simply put, reality has changed, and the number of internet users connecting via mobile devices is increasing daily. If we fail to recognize these new consumption habits and our website doesn't display correctly on mobile devices, we risk failure. we will be losing a significant portion of the visits and users who wish to view our page and, consequently, part of our potential clients.

BUT HOW DO I KNOW IF MY WEBSITE IS RESPONSIVE?

In most cases, it will suffice to reduce the size of our browser window whether we access it from a computer or directly from a mobile phone or tablet.

There are numerous online tools and browser add-ons that can be especially helpful during the development process. One such tool is Google's Mobile Friendly Test, where you simply enter your website's address to get a screenshot. You can also install browser extensions, such as Window Resizer for Chrome.

You can also request a free analysis of your website, and we'll tell you if it meets the requirements for a responsive web design. We'll also inform you about other essential aspects for your site, such as SEO (from both a technical and content perspective), social media, and more. Get your analysis here.

WHAT CAN I DO IF MY WEBSITE IS NOT RESPONSIVE?

If you've run various tests on your website and realized it's not responsive, you should consider adapting your current site or creating a new one. Responsive web design will allow you to show all users the same content and improve your browsing experience, as it is designed for each device.

At Maldon we believe that having a responsive website is the best possible practice: reduces development times and, in the same way, the associated costs and it offers us several interesting advantages for the search engine positioning (SEO)In fact, Google recommends responsive design over creating a completely mobile website, as it significantly improves the user experience, conveys a consistent image, and avoids potential duplicate content issues.

Furthermore, developing a new website with responsive design in mind from the outset will allow us to save up to 65% of its cost, avoiding a future adaptation exclusively for mobile.

WHAT SHOULD I CONSIDER WHEN DESIGNING MY RESPONSIVE WEBSITE?

MOBILE FIRST

Behind this name lies a web development philosophy focused on mobile devices, which proposes that a website's design be optimized from the outset to be viewed on these devices and later restructured for higher resolutions.

Mobile First, the philosophy we use to develop at Maldon, forces us to prioritize content and functionality, preventing adaptation problems on small screens later on, implementing performance and efficiency improvements, and not overloading the website with useless elements.

USABILITY

Navigating on a mobile device using different finger gestures is not the same as navigating on a computer using a mouse. We must take into account the browsing habits of our users, making it easier for them to interact and quickly find the content they want to see.

INTERACTIVITY

Along with usability, interactivity is key to responsive web design. We must consider, for example, situations where we hover the mouse over an element and how this animation will behave on mobile devices where, lacking a mouse, we cannot replicate the interaction in the same way as on a desktop. However, there are other very common alternative gestures, such as dragging with a finger.

LOADING SPEED

An important aspect to consider is the loading speed of our website on mobile devices, something we discussed some time ago. There's a significant difference in how quickly website elements load when browsing from a computer versus a mobile device, primarily due to bandwidth limitations. This often leads to users abandoning the site before it has fully displayed.

To prevent large images and videos from loading, which can significantly reduce speed, we must use libraries that allow conditional loading of certain elements, thus avoiding unnecessary resources when the user accesses from their mobile device.

SEMANTIC WEB

The rise of responsive web design has gone hand in hand with HTML5, the new web development standard that allows us to define elements more precisely, improving the structure of both our code and the information we provide to different search engines.

Written by Maldon