Responsive Web Design – why and when is it used for?

Adaptive layout is required to display the content of web pages on monitors correctly with different resolution settings, as well as on mobile devices. In other words, the adaptive design of the site allows you to place all the content of web pages for easy viewing. As a result, all blocks of content will be placed in order on the monitor or tablet screen.

What is Responsive Design?

Responsive design is the ability of an Internet resource to adapt to the technical parameters of a PC monitor, laptop, tablet or smartphone. Modern responsive design is labour-intensive and takes more time for web development. The main goal of using a responsive layout consists in improving usability and achieving higher conversion rates for all users, regardless of the device type.

Responsive design layout is an essential element for running a successful business online. This layout should be used at the start of any web project, regardless of its content or type.

When is it necessary to do a responsive website design?

Modern Internet resources always compete to get users’ favour. Nowadays, not only personal computers or laptops are used to surf the Internet, but also mobile gadgets. A high-quality design of the mobile site version will attract the target audience that uses mobile devices to order services or purchase goods on the Internet. If earlier it was possible to avoid any adaption of the site to different devices and the resolution of their screens, now this issue has always been raised during the web development of each new project or the improvement of an existing one.

The most important factor that affects the transformation of targeted traffic into orders is the usability of the site. And the correct development of website design is the basis of a convenient resource. If the user feels comfortable on the site, it is easy to find the necessary information and surf the web pages of the resource, this site is always remembered and the users have a strong desire to visit it again. It will allow to create your own captive audience of a site and the conversion is growing. Thus, adaptive and responsive design increases the level of usability. Users recognize the organized blocks of content and enjoy finding everything they need on the site. Otherwise, almost every second user leaves your resource and starts browsing the site of competitors.

The design of an adaptive site is also needed for its successful promotion. The lack of such a design leads to the fact that the site loses a huge part of the target consumers who use mobile devices to surf the web. The income as well. But other than that, non-responsive design sites have learned to recognize the search engines themselves, which primarily analyze the content displayed on mobile devices. The content of the mobile and desktop versions of the resources must be completely identical.

It is very important to understand that the advantage is given to adaptive sites. Resources with a non-responsive design during ranking are limited in terms of positions in the search results. If your internet project is the main source of online sales, then adaptive design is necessary. Users leave low-quality sites quickly. They do not like to wait long and make a great effort to find the relevant information or take the planned action.

Thus, this website design is used for:

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  raising the level of usability;

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  improving conversion rates;

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  successful promotion of the resource to the top of the search results;

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  formation of the target audience and user loyalty to the site.

Types of Responsive Layouts

The modern design of a mobile site can be done by layout designers using several types of adaptive layout. The simplest in terms of implementation in practice, as well as the most convenient for Internet users, is so-called rubber layout. As a result of using it the main blocks of content are simply compressed to the appropriate screen resolution of a mobile device.

If the web page consists of a large number of block elements, then a mobile site design using simple block wrapping is suitable. In this case, the sidebars (additional block elements) are moved to the bottom of the web page design layout.

Switching layouts is the other function available on some sites. Separate design layouts for viewing the resource on desktop and mobile devices need to be developed. This work is labor-intensive. Sometimes responsive design in the form of panels is used. The design came from mobile applications. A horizontal or vertical tap of a mobile device will cause an additional menu to appear.

What is the difference in responsive design?

Modern website design for mobile devices and responsive design is not one and the same. Responsive is the reaction of the design layout to the user’s action. For instance, if you are clicking the content blocks can be changed or new ones appeared. That is, the layout of the web page design reacts to each action of the Internet users by changing its structure. For more detailed consideration of this issue- what the responsive design is, you need to understand at least the basics of modern website layout and web programming. Responsive website design provides for the usage of multiple layouts for different types of devices.

Is the full mobile version better?

Responsive layout implies the creation of a single design layout that adapts to the desktop and modern mobile devices. If you are interested in the mobile version of the site, then it is about developing a separate resource for viewing on mobile devices. Naturally, this work will be more difficult and expensive, but as a result, it will be possible to achieve maximum adaptation of the resource for viewing web pages on screens with low resolution. It is also worth noting that if you have a mobile version, you will need more time to administer, make changes to the content of the pages of two independent, separate resources.

Outcome

There is only one conclusion – adapting the site design for viewing web pages on devices with different screen resolutions is a necessity. There is no doubt about this. Which layout method to choose to implement this issue is to adapt one resource or create two separate ones for desktop and mobile gadgets will depend on the preferences and needs. Nowadays, such a service as the creation of an adaptive website design is highly demanded and our web studio provides it on a professional level.