Web design today has to be created and implemented with mobile users in mind. That’s where responsive design comes into the picture and it has assumed great significance in present times. But just like other elements of web design, you have to bear in mind a few best practices when it comes to responsive design. They will ensure that your site functions well and shows the desired flexibility too.
Keep things simple
You can start with cutting out page elements that are not essential to your site, without compromising on its visual appeal. Responsive Design should mean that a website works well on high powered desktops and mobile devices with low bandwidth alike. You can make the most out of HTML5 for a simple navigation layout. Things like CSS3 special effects, float positioning, Flash and even Javascript can be avoided. As a rule of thumb you have to work with the lowest common denominator so that the responsive website works well on all mobile devices.
Keep responsive in mind while designing website
When you are considering site layouts you have to bear in mind the fact that there are certain layouts, which are more conducive to responsive design than the others. These layouts ensure that website designs convert to assorted new sizes, which is an added advantage. If you are looking for responsive design you will find merits in simple layout and HTML code. You can also use simple mechanisms when it comes to menu and navigation. HTML5 guidelines and doc-type can also be used to create a largely simple layout.
Test
There is no option but to actually test how your website works on different devices. Your browser can be re-sized to see the results you want. You will also have to test your website on mobile devices to know what your users experience. Device specific breakpoints can be used, especially in case of the popular devices to see what the results would look like. The idea behind responsive design should be that your website is not only functional but also appealing on different mobile devices while it’s easy to maintain for you too.
Brevity in content should be maintained
Content has always been the crucial part of your website and it comes into focus even more when it’s about responsive design. That’s because users are trying to give priority to content that they will otherwise have to look on your website. Hence it’s important that when you are planning the design, your content should be precise and nowhere should it get redundant. Use any content on your website only after it has been properly examined. You have to be judicious with your content because it needs to have the right impact on your users irrespective of the device they are using to view your website.
Breakpoints
There’s a belief that common screen sizes; tablet, mobile and desktop should be kept in mind when it comes to breakpoints. But if you focus on creating device specific solutions, you will not be able to make the most out of responsive design, which is meant to be fluid, flexible and easily adaptable. You are better off creating breakpoints based on your content, since it’s the key to your website and thereby having a device agnostic attitude.
Adaptive sizing for all images
Images can make or break your design; no two ways about it. Poorly formatted images not only go against layouts but increase load times too. That in itself is a major cause for higher mobile bounce rate. Thankfully you have the option of defining your images on percentage basis compared to screen width, with the help of adaptive sizing. It works a lot better than fixed solutions and you can also take likely breakpoints into account to provide useful solutions to different mobile devices. Your data stream will thus be increased and your load times slowed.
Meta viewpoint Meta tag should be checked
Mobile users often try to replicate the desktop view by smoothly squeezing in high resolutions into really small screens. While there are advantages to it, there are also issues, especially in the case of responsive design. On the other hand you can get the best out of Viewpoint Meta Tag and ensure that the browser uses the real size of the physical screen. You can set the device to width; it ensures that the browser is set up to a window with a real device size.
Don’t overlook the important command buttons
Most of mobile phones today are touch enabled and problem arises when buttons are shrunk to really small proportions. It can be a nuisance for users and they are forced to either enlarge the website or then do away with it completely. Enlarging doesn’t always work for users as well because they can’t control things and the site is enlarged beyond the required size. These situations can be easily avoided by the use of import buttons like Submit, Enter, Login in the right size. It will ensure that users don’t have to feel frustrated trying to access the buttons they need to perform a particular action.
You have to realize that these are some of the practices that you can think about when you are planning your responsive design because they definitely have their merits. But at the end of the day your responsive design has to be built so that it can load and function instantly on devices, which often tend to have low resolution. Their processing power and bandwidth access is not up to the mark either, which should be kept in mind with responsive design.
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