Surprised? 73.1% of web designers believe that a non-responsive design is a top reason why visitors leave a website, while 38.5% of them believe what majorly causes bounce rate is outdated design (GoodFirms, 2021). However, the business growth cannot be separated from effective websites, or responsive websites. In the first quarter of 2021, mobile devices generated 54.8% of global website traffic (Hubspot, 2022). 50% of consumers believe that website design is crucial to overall brand of a business. (Top Design Firms, 2021)
Optimizing the display of websites on mobile devices requires the implementation of responsive website design. This is why web developers, nowadays, must wonder how to make websites responsive in their projects.
What Is A Responsive Website?
Responsive web design is having the design and development responded to the user behaviors and environment, such as desktop or mobile; as well as based on screen size, platforms and orientations.
The technique combines adaptable grids and layouts, graphics, and a smart application of CSS media queries. As the user moves from their laptop to an iPad, the website should immediately switch to resolution, image size, and scripting capabilities. The user may also need to take into account the settings on their devices.
For instance, if the user has a VPN installed on their iPad, the website should not prevent them from watching the page. In other words, the website should be equipped with the necessary technologies to automatically react to user choices. This would minimize the risk of continuous redesign and redevelopment stage for each new phase released.
Responsive website design helps websites to display well on mobile, tablet, and desktop platforms. Websites without responsive design run the risk of alienating a sizable user base.
Your business growth leads to the development of your website. So, the investment in responsive web design is worth it. Google Search Central stated:
“Mobile is changing the world. Today, everyone has smartphones with them, constantly communicating and looking for information. In many countries, the number of smartphones has surpassed the number of personal computers; having a mobile-friendly website has become a critical part of having an online presence.
If you have not made your website mobile-friendly, you should. The majority of users coming to your site are likely to be using a mobile device.”
How To Create Responsive Websites?
1. Proper Responsive Breakpoints
A breakpoint is the "point" at which the content of a website and design will change in a certain way in responsive design to offer the optimal user experience.
Different devices with various screen sizes and resolutions are used to visit websites. Every screen size must be rendered flawlessly by the software. It is not possible to distort, remove, or cover up content or images.
Developers must employ responsive breakpoints, also known as CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) breakpoints to make responsive websites possible. These are the points that the code defines. In response to these observations, website content changes its size to reflect the proper layout for the screen size.
With CSS breakpoints in place, website content will adapt to screen size and present itself in a way that is appealing to the eye and makes it easier for users to consume it visually.
Breakpoints are a must-have for the most popular tablet, desktop, and mobile device resolutions. These include:
- 1920×1080 (9.61%)
- 1366×768 (7.87%)
- 360×640 (4.36%)
- 414×896 (4.34%)
- 1536×864 (4.11%)
2. Fluid Grid
In the past, websites were constructed using pixel measurements. However, they are now constructed using a fluid grid.
In essence, a fluid grid places and arranges web items on a site in accordance with the screen size. Elements on a fluid grid will adapt and adjust to fit the size of the screen rather than being created in a single, pre-determined size specified in pixels. So that your experience when using a mobile app or iPad won’t be badly affected.
The columns of a fluid grid are scaled, rather than having fixed heights and widths. The screen size affects the text and element sizes.
Working with source code of the website allows you to create the rules of a fluid grid.
A fluid grid also aids in maintaining visual identity of a site across various devices. Additionally, it allows for quicker design-related decision-making and provides greater control over alignments.
3. Touchscreens
Think of touchscreens while researching how to make websites responsive. The majority of mobile devices, including phones and tablets, now include touchscreens. Some laptops are catching up as well, including touchscreen functionality in addition to keyboard features.
A responsive website will need to adjust itself for touchscreen access, of course. Consider the case where the homepage has a drop-down menu.
- Each menu item in the desktop view must be big enough to be touched with the tip of a touchscreen.
- Smaller features like buttons should be simpler to see and select on mobile displays.
4. Define Typography
Font sizes are typically specified using pixels. A responsive font is required for responsive web pages. The font size must adjust depending on the width of the parent container. Typography must do this in order to adapt to screen size and be readable on a variety of devices.
Find the rems unit in the CSS3 specification. It functions relative to the HTML element and is comparable to the em unit. As a result, the HTML font size must be reset in the code.
5. A Pre-designed Theme Or Layout
The use of a theme or pre-designed layout with responsive features is an ideal option for developers and designers who are trying to create a responsive website within a very short time frame. WordPress offers a variety of options in this area (both free and paid). After selecting a theme, designers only need to choose a color scheme, a logo, and text.
6. Responsiveness Testing On Real Devices
The importance of testing on actual devices is something that is frequently forgotten during responsive website design. The code can be modified as much as the developers would like, but its functionality must be tested in actual user environments.
Run a responsive design checker on the website after it has been coded. It is necessary to test the responsive website after the research is finished and it has been constructed. A website must be tested on numerous real browsers and devices if it needs to be validated as responsive. Only in that way can the effectiveness of responsive design be evaluated under actual user circumstances.
Final thoughts
How to create responsive websites? Follow the instructions above suggested by GCT Solution. The level of work required to achieve responsiveness directly relates to how the end user feels.
Remember that people expect any website to work flawlessly on every single device they own, whether it be a laptop, tablet, or smartphone. A website may suffer the risk of losing some target audience if its responsive design is not compatible with a certain device resolution (especially one that is widely utilized). Avoid this by devoting time and effort to learning how to create a responsive web page at the start of a project.
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