Five Tips to Make a Responsive Website and Why They Matter
by Josette MIllar
There are specific keys to creating successful, responsive website design. Using focused, time-tested tips can help marketers move visitors from a ‘curious’ to an ‘on-going’ customer more quickly and efficiently.
While working to learn how to make a responsive website it is essential to follow these tips. They have been developed by design experts who have specialized in moving people quickly from visitor to buyer through the website sales funnel.
1) The Tenacious Value of Responsive Inbound Marketing
Every digital marketer working to make a responsive website is contending with a tidal wave of new and evolving mobile devices. Today’s buyers are used to reviewing content through multiple device-types.
Anytime you have varying screen sizes, inconsistent resolutions, or even “interaction models” – meaning that your “always-on” buyers should be able to easily engage with your brand – where, how, and at any time they choose – you are also dealing with potential scrambles of information that do not show or present in the manner intended for the receiver.
This opportunity to engage at any hour of the day or night, using any device they choose – can carry a risk for you. Failing to make certain your message can be easily viewed and comprehended through all potential device types can cause major issues when it comes to conversion to sales.
2) Utilize A Design-Feature Check-List
Never forget to check your message consistency across all of your device types in use by your visitors. This means figuring out how to deliver optimal user experiences through every device accessing your website. You have to deliver the platforms in use by your customers.
Responsive website design is an approach that balances one content-base and one code-base. This is done to render content across varieties of screen resolutions as well as device types and models designed for interaction.
When learning how to make a responsive website – begin by designing many breakpoints. Next establish a single site to enable virtual service – this service will stretch across thousands of different tablets, desk-top activities, and mobile phones.
3) How To Make a Responsive Website: Key Factors
Identify your key decision points and considerations for contemplating a responsive design framework and platform:
- Include all the key factors driving the adoption of responsive design
- Utilize an approach to content strategy that is uniquely suited to responsive design efforts
- Identify the key differences between both adaptive and responsive design
- Actualize ways to avoid the common misperceptions that can lead to stalled implementations or mismatched expectations
- Shepherd responsive design projects through enterprise deployments
With advances in Google’s algorithm, the ranking of sites not mobile friendly is significantly reduced. Responsive web design is much more than just taking your existing desktop site and scaling down the images:
- Pick and choose elements which are the most valuable to the visitor
- Pare down your desktop version to only include the essentials
- Create a responsive site which will seamlessly scale to any format
4) Plan for a Simple Design
It naturally follows that a responsive design would also require a simple design. However, in 2014, simplicity takes on a little bit different meaning. Here, simple is a far cry from generic. Good designers are not just throwing hundreds of images at the screen along with tons of words.
Today, designers are identifying the most powerful images. They are crafting their statements into short, clear messages. Flat design is a nearly element free design. Remove features such as drop shadows and gradients. The result: a cleaner, less distracting look.
5) TEST Like Crazy
“Test, test, and test again,” is the mantra of every top web designer.
Putting customers first is obviously mandatory. Testing is the only way to get to know your target audience to discover what they want and need most from your web design. How to make a responsive website – is as simple as taking one logical step after the other.