What Do You Need To Know About Responsive Website? - Semalt Expert

At a time when users browse websites on a desktop computer, laptop, tablet or smartphone, it is worth creating a website that automatically adapts to the requirements of each of these devices: loads quickly and fully loads on each device. This aspect is important, especially since more and more Internet users use the search engine on their phones or tablets. A responsive website has these properties. In this article, you will learn what characterizes the RWD website and why it is worth investing in it.

A responsive website is a website that automatically adjusts to the resolution of a specific device. It looks good not only in high resolution on a computer but also on a smartphone or tablet with a small screen. Responsiveness means that there is no need to create separate versions of the website for computers and mobile devices. The answer to the question of what responsiveness means is extremely simple: it is the most common universality concerning websites.

A responsive website adapts to the hardware, but also the browser. The system collects information about the browser and device, which means that the website automatically adjusts the elements necessary for its proper functioning, as well as additional ones, such as font type, graphics or the size of individual elements. Thanks to this, the website displays equally well on devices with Firefox, Google Chrome, Opera, Safari or Internet Explorer browsers, regardless of the screen resolution. It automatically adjusts to the size of the equipment used.

With these types of pages, what you click on your computer turns into touch buttons for mobile devices. The size of specific points and fonts on the website usually also changes, which translates into ease of navigation, especially on phones with small screens.

Current coding standards also allow you to disable certain elements on the page, depending on the resolution and type of device on which it is currently displayed. In the case of responsive websites, the webmaster has the option of making such settings that specific buttons, graphics, backgrounds or other elements are loaded only on selected devices, e.g. only on a page displayed on a computer, and not on a smartphone. The purpose of such changes is to achieve maximum readability of the website. It also often happens that versions for mobile devices have fewer pictures and decorative elements, which means that the user can quickly and easily find the information he/she is interested in. 

When coding a responsive website, one thing to remember is to adjust its horizontal size. The pages you create can be scaled. As a result, the page uses the entire width of the screen (browser window) and there is no need to move it sideways to see the full content. It is also an important factor affecting the readability and ease of use of a responsive website.

A responsive website is a solution that brings many benefits to the owner and the people using it. The RWD website is primarily a convenience for users, allowing them to fully use the capabilities of all devices that they use daily. A well-designed and executed website is equally legible, intuitive to use and, above all, functional on any device. Today, it is the basis if we want to think about attracting potential customers, the foundation of the modern architecture of websites.

The website owner also benefits from a responsive website. He/she does not have to create several versions of the website for different types of devices and browsers. The URL on mobile and desktop is the same. This translates into saving money, which can be spent, for example, on the development or promotion of the company. The RWD website is also better rated by Google robots, thanks to which it can be found higher in the organic results in the search engine. The responsiveness of the website has a positive effect on the positioning. Speaking of positioning, I suggest a very effective tool to optimize your website after making it responsible. It is The Dedicated SEO Dashboard.

It is also worth bearing in mind that users who often use the Internet on mobile devices are more likely to return to websites that are fully optimized for smartphones and tablets than to non-responsive websites. This is because using the RWD website is simply much more convenient than browsing the classic version on the phone, on which no changes have been made. 

It is worth noting that the number of users browsing websites on mobile devices is constantly growing. The comfort of using mobile pages is subject to social evaluation and algorithm analysis. As a result, the greater the convenience of the site's recipient, the higher the position in the search results.

The RWD page is created by precisely indicating what elements must load for each resolution. For example, by typing @media screen and (min-width:992px) and (max-width:1280px), you can specify that specific elements will only be displayed on screens with a screen width between 992 and 1280 px, and for other dimensions, they will be neglected. The CSS code also allows you to use the media queries function, in which the generated content is adapted to the environment, taking into account its variables, such as the display and its resolution.

To design responsive web design websites, it is worth using special applications that facilitate work. They enable e.g. downloading ready-made .css or .js files, which can be used to create your own responsive templates. This solution is much faster and more efficient than creating a new template from scratch.

A responsive website allows you to create a user-friendly, visually aesthetic and functional website. This applies to any type of website: online stores, company websites, blogs, business cards, portals and others. Such a website loads well and quickly, no matter if we pick up different phones and tablets, different models, or different devices - the effect is the same - the website is displayed correctly.

So, let's summarize all the pros and cons of creating responsive websites. Let's start with the first ones because there are definitely more of them. First of all, responsiveness is strongly associated with social media. We usually use Instagram, Facebook, YouTube or Twitter on mobile devices. Posts or advertisements placed on social media, however, direct to the website. As a result, if we do not have a responsive HTML address, all actions taken are throwing money down the drain. Conversions among mobile users will not grow if the page does not display well. Our bounce rate will increase.

Secondly, a responsive website is guarantee of a higher position in Google search results. Certainly, it will rank ahead of websites that do not have mobile versions of services. Thirdly, users of mobile devices often act impulsively. They don't want to be on a site that doesn't adapt to the screen size of their device, when they can't quickly find the information they need, they leave.

RVD is a friendly UX. As a result, users are more likely to visit them, so it can be said that the traffic generated by websites depends indirectly on the size of the screen and the flexibility of webmasters in designing pages. RVDs tailored to our needs actually have only one disadvantage, they are more expensive than mobile versions of websites, but should this determine our choice of a cheaper and much less advantageous option? We dare doubt it.

You can quickly determine this directly in your browser. In Google Chrome, for example, you do this:

Notice how the different elements of the homepage move and change depending on the size you set. If, on the other hand, the elements stay the same size and disappear from view as the window shrinks, the site is not responsive. You can also use free tools such as Google's mobile compatibility test.

While other methods such as "adaptive design" allow you to create mobile-friendly websites, we recommend a responsive approach because of its flexibility and sustainability.