RESPONSIVE WEB DESIGN – WHAT IS IT FOR?

RESPONSIVE WEB DESIGN – WHAT IS IT FOR? Now is the century of advanced technologies and hardly anyone imagines his life without a smartphone or other gadget. Therefore, the owners of online resources are trying to maximize the technical characteristics of sites, making them more convenient for their potential consumers. And in connection with this, a popular question arises: “Responsive web design – what is it for?”. In short, this is one of the indicators of success and quality of the web site. In this review, we have collected the main tasks and principles of this direction in web design.

ADAPTIVE VERSION: WHAT ARE ITS ADVANTAGES USED FOR?

Responsive website design (responsive web-design) provides the perfect “perception” of different devices of web pages. The resource can be viewed equally well, both on a computer and on a smartphone, tablet, and so on, regardless of the display format and resolution. The user no longer needs to expand the screen to get to the desired button or go to another section.

Responsive web design has the following advantages:

 You can view the site from any device. Now the technology market offers a huge number of gadgets that differ in technical properties. If your site will be displayed as well as possible on any device, then it will be successful with users and will be able to attract more customers;

audience increase. As mentioned above, the higher the site’s adaptability for mobile devices, the more likely it is to increase sales in the future

the possibility of urgent alerts. This is relevant for news resources. For example, you have an urgent message that will interest many people. They will be able to get acquainted with your content from a smartphone in public transport, during the lunch break and so on when there is no computer or laptop at hand.

BASIC PRINCIPLES AND TYPES.

Responsive design has five types of layouts:

Rubber. This is the simplest of all existing classes. It is convenient for user perception. Its thematic blocks are automatically compressed to the required width of the device from which the site is being viewed. If this is not possible in practice, the reorganization of the tape along the length is started.

 Web Block Migration. Most often used for a resource with a large number of columns. When the dimensions are “pulled” to the desired display parameters, the blocks are transferred down the template.

 Switch layouts. The method is convenient when reading content from any gadgets. An individual layout is developed for any screen resolution. This is time-consuming, and therefore rarely used in practice.

 Minimum adaptive layout. The method is used for simple sites. Works by scaling images and graphics. The version is not “flexible”, so it is used even less often than the previous type.

 Separate panels. This method is built on the principle of mobile applications, where the mobile menu crashes with horizontal or vertical tapas. However, the user may not be able to understand such a “trick”, since it is strange to see such navigation on the site. The method has pretty good prospects in the future.

For each project, it is necessary to develop an individual version. None of the options presented can be considered a universal solution.

 

Development begins with a web site version for mobile devices. Designers design a template for a small display and just one column. This is done in order to demonstrate to the customer the main message and idea, then to make adjustments. The content can, if desired, be reduced, inserted or removed sidebars (blocks).

The process has something like this algorithm:

early development;

use of a flexible template with the layout;

image application;

insert media queries;

gradual improvement of the result.

You need to devote a lot of time to the little things. The visitor should not have the impression that he came to a completely different website. Important elements are best marked in bold so that they are easier to find on the page and go to the desired section. In order for the work to succeed, it is necessary to apply a consistent color scheme that does not overwork the eyes. According to statistics, a structure of 12 columns is the most preferred option. This is useful when adjusting the width and indentation between sidebars.

RESPONSIVE WEB DESIGN OR MOBILE VERSION?

The mechanics of adaptive design is that a fundamentally new version of the site is not created, but only its original appearance is modified to fit the necessary parameters of mobile devices. But the mobile version is less functional and allows the user to see only the most necessary content. That is, a separate application is created with a prefix in the address m or mobile.

So, we will understand the advantages of the mobile version:

 high download speed. As mentioned above, when developing a template, all “unnecessary” blocks are removed that reduce the functionality of the site. And this factor has a positive effect on ranking in search engines;

 good usability. The site is as simple and convenient for visitors as possible, which means it’s popular;

 You can quickly make the necessary adjustments. Using an individual code, you can quickly edit blocks and make changes. CEOs work with codes such as sitemap, robots and it will be easier for them to interact with them;

 The ability to switch to the full version of the web resource. In the case of adaptive design, such a right of choice is limited, but it is not required either, since viewing content and making purchases will be equally convenient from any gadget.

It would seem that such advantages make the choice obvious, but there are significant disadvantages. For example, the need to create your own mobile application for each type of OS. This requires certain financial and time investments, which significantly slows down the whole process. In addition, users need to download the application to their phones or tablet. However, not everyone is sure that they will often use it, therefore they do not want to overload the equipment. The promotion of the site will significantly slow down the separation of traffic. This metric will be split between the app and the website, which looks like less traffic. You will have to separately fill out two resources with product cards or news at once, or pre-configure synchronization, which will lead to additional time costs.

In the case of responsive web design, you get one address and a single platform with a synchronized management system. This is very convenient for the webmaster, and due to a single stream of traffic, promotion is faster. But there are also disadvantages, for example, an adaptive site loads slower, especially if the site is full of a lot of images, has a complicated menu, and so on. And this can adversely affect attendance. In addition, a specialist who is versed in all the intricacies of new technologies and has extensive experience in developing similar projects is responsible for good adaptability.

What to choose from two options will depend on the specialization of your site. This is discussed with specialists in a personal meeting when there is a discussion and elaboration of a future promotion strategy. But there are a number of universal tips. For news portals, it is better to select a mobile version that allows users to view only the necessary information almost instantly after opening the application. But for online stores, the optimal solution is responsive.

So, to get around competitors and attract visitors, you always need to keep abreast of new technologies. Therefore, it is better to contact professionals.