What is the responsive version of the site.

Research results among Internet users strongly indicate an increase in the number of people who visit websites using mobile devices. In view of this, the owners of Internet resources face an important task: to take the necessary measures to reduce to a minimum the number of refusals due to poor display of the site on the user’s device.

Now is the time to think about the advisability of developing a responsive version of the site, because, as you can see in the diagram, many users still access the Internet from computers and laptops, and many from mobile devices.

Simply put, the responsive version of the site provides the following result: no matter what device users visit the resource, it will be displayed correctly on the screen . With a properly developed and configured responsive design, the image size , position and size of text and blocks are able to automatically adjust to the user’s gadget screen, as a result of which, each element of the page is visible and easy to use – this has a positive effect on the site’s reputation and is significantly reflected in conversions.

What is responsive website design.

Each Internet resource consists of a set of different blocks, the adaptive layout of the site ensures the correct display of all page elements, regardless of what gadgets are used for Internet surfing. Having opted for the responsive design, the site owner no longer needs to worry about what electronic devices visitors use to access the resource. Each block of the website page automatically adjusts to the resolution and display diagonal, providing the most comfortable conditions for users.

First of all, website customization is about taking care of your visitors. With this design, the user does not need to constantly increase the size of the content displayed on the screen or move it around. The user can interact with the key elements of the page as comfortably as possible, which has a positive effect on the site’s reputation and contributes to an increase in the average time spent on the resource by each visitor.

Does your site need a responsive version?

Having decided on the characteristics of responsive design, many owners of resources on the Internet will face a completely natural question: do I need an adaptive version of the site, or can I get by with what we have? Naturally, the development and implementation of an adaptive version takes effort, time and money. If they pay off in the near future, most people will see the feasibility of tackling this issue. But if a responsive website is a long-term issue for you, you might decide to postpone it.

In order for the site owner to plan the correct development strategy, it is necessary to be guided by reliable and reliable data. The owner can collect objective information to make an informed decision regarding the advisability of working on an adaptive version of the site from two reliable sources:

 

1.     Analysis of competitors.
2.     Data from Google Analytics reports.

One of the simplest and quickest ways to determine how appropriate it is in your niche and in your region to create responsive design is to do a competitor analysis. Using one of the specialized services (for example, Screenfly), you can quickly check if a particular site has a responsive design. If your competitors have already paid attention to this issue and implemented it on their own resources, this probably makes sense, so you should also work hard to make the site design responsive. Of course, as we will discuss further, if competitors have not yet implemented responsive design, this is not a reason to forget about this issue, you should also use the second analysis tool.

The second reliable feature is provided by Google Analytics. Thanks to special reports, you can analyze traffic to your site in detail . Attention should be paid not so much to the number of visitors and geography – an important criterion is the graph showing from which devices the site was visited. If the number of visits from tablets and smartphones exceeds 10%, then you should seriously think about implementing responsive design.

 

The benefits of responsive design.

We have already noted above that websites with responsive design are about the convenience of visitors. Thus, the owners of Internet resources take an important step towards making it as comfortable for visitors to perform targeted actions as possible. However, in addition to this, creating a responsive website has a number of other advantages, we will consider 6 of them:

1.     Competitive advantage.
2.     User loyalty.
3.     Improved conversion.
4.     Expanding the target audience.
5.     Easy to maintain and save.
6.     Positive impact on SEO promotion.

Although it was said above about the possibility, thanks to the analysis of competitors, to determine the feasibility of introducing responsive design – this should not be a key criterion. The fact is that today not all online stores and other sites have implemented adaptive , so if you do it faster than your competitors, you will get a significant competitive advantage.

The more comfortable it is for visitors to perform targeted actions on the site, the more loyal they become to the company. Nowadays, there is often a struggle for literally every loyal client, adaptive design is an effective means in this struggle.

At the very beginning of the article, statistics were given with a diagram showing that the percentage of people who access the Internet from smartphones and tablets is quite large. Let’s say 2 sites – one has an adaptive design, and the other doesn’t. Which resource will be more converting? The answer is obvious – the one where it will be easier for the user to complete the targeted action.

The more users it is more convenient to perform targeted actions on the site, the more customers you will have – this rule cannot be ignored. Thus, by implementing a responsive design on the site, you can maximize the reach of potential users, due to the fact that regardless of the device used, interaction with the site will be as convenient and effective as possible.

Some site owners, instead of responsive design, create a mobile version of the resource or develop an application. Sometimes this is done in order to save money on responsive design work. In fact, everything turns out the other way around – in terms of labor costs, the mobile version is comparable to that as if you had to create a second site, and the development and support of applications today is quite expensive, the price tag ranges from $ 2,000 to $ 5,000.

When creating a website, you should think about its promotion. Google’s algorithms are such that sites with responsive designs rank better and higher in search results than those that are not mobile-friendly .

Responsive or mobile version. What to choose for a website?

Today, every website owner has a choice – to create an adaptive website or to make a mobile layout of his resource? In this issue, not everything is clear, so it is necessary to weigh all the pros and cons.

First of all, it is worth taking into account the fact that the loading speed of an adaptive site will be an order of magnitude lower in comparison with a standard resource and its mobile version. Nowadays, download speed is an important criterion that affects both ranking and behavioral factors. Another disadvantage of responsive design is that today quite a few programmers have the relevant knowledge and experience in how to make a responsive website design . Therefore, you will have to make an effort to find a master of his craft.

At the same time, do not forget about the disadvantages of the mobile version. First of all, its development implies compromises – it is necessary to decide which functionality to discard and what to keep. The mobile version always implies reduced functionality in comparison with the main site. Another significant drawback is the price of the issue – the cost of creating and maintaining the mobile version is comparable to the price of the main site.

Types of responsive layouts.

During the development of the design, it is necessary to determine the adaptability format , which will subsequently be implemented on the site. Four types of responsive layouts are common today:

Rubber. This layout is considered the most popular among responsive designs. Its principle is that the blocks of a site page are compressed to the width of the display. Those blocks that do not fit in width are located from top to bottom.

Building blocks. This type is most suitable for sites with a multi-column structure. If the screen narrows, the blocks move down.

Switching layouts. This design option implies that layouts will automatically switch, depending on which device the user comes to the site from. This approach is very laborious, so it cannot be called popular.

Content scaling. The presented type of design is considered the simplest and is intended for simple sites. Its essence lies in the fact that scaling does not occur for the entire page as a whole, but for individual blocks of content – text or images.

To determine what type of design will be optimal in each individual case, you should carefully study and analyze the content of the site. And choose the format in which important, key or lead generating blocks will be displayed most effectively.