The Essentials of Responsive Website Design in Pittsburgh, PA
Written By: Shane Clark on May 27, 2022
Nowadays, it’s no longer enough to have a static website design that merely looks excellent on a desktop or laptop screen. Responsive website design in Pittsburgh, PA, is essential for local businesses, on top of other digital marketing services. In addition, you must consider smartphones and tablets, 2-in-1 computers, and various other smart devices with multiple screen sizes.
You can no longer stuff content in a single column and call it a day. Instead, you can ensure that your website appears great on cell phones, tablets, laptops, and desktops by using responsive web design. And a better user experience through responsive design means you stand a chance of getting higher conversions and increased revenue.
What Is Responsive Design?
Responsive design allows your content to adjust to various screen and window sizes on multiple devices. On desktop screens, for example, page information is often divided into different columns so the content can accommodate different screen sizes.
It will be tough for users to read and interact with your info if the content is divided into many columns on a smartphone. Responsive design provides several distinct layouts for various devices based on screen size.
Why Is Responsive Design Important?
You might be wondering why responsive design is essential if you’re new to design, programming, or blogging. Designing for a single device is no longer recommended nowadays. Mobile web traffic has outstripped desktop traffic and now accounts for over half of all website traffic.
Businesses can no longer deliver online experiences exclusively to desktop or laptop users. Over half of your potential visitors use their mobile devices to explore the web. Your website would be clunky and hard to use.
Mobile users also account for most search engine visits. As a result, mobile has emerged as one of the essential commercial channels in recent years. Even in the aftermath of the epidemic, mobile ad expenditure is up 4.8% to $91.52 billion.
The bulk of your site traffic probably already comes from mobile consumers, whether you advertise on social media or employ an organic technique like YouTube SEO. It would be challenging to take advantage of the ROI of your marketing efforts if your landing pages aren’t mobile-friendly and straightforward to use. Poor conversion rates will result in fewer leads and wasted advertising dollars.
Adaptive Web Design vs. Responsive Web Design
Responsive design differs from adaptive design in that responsive design adapts the rendering of a single page version. Adaptive design, on the other hand, creates numerous completely distinct versions of the same page. Both are important web design trends that allow webmasters to manage how their site appears on different screens, but they take specific approaches.
Users will access the same basic file through their browser regardless of the device when using responsive design, but CSS code will govern the layout and render it differently depending on screen size. A script in adaptable design checks for the screen size and then accesses the template created for that device.
Is WordPress a Responsive Platform?
The theme of your WordPress site determines whether it is responsive. A WordPress theme is like a static website template in that it controls the design and layout of your content.
The design of a default WordPress theme, such as Twenty Twenty, is responsive, but because it’s a single-column design, you might not notice it while viewing it on various screens. If you’re using another WordPress theme, compare how it looks on different devices or use Chrome Developer Tools to see if it’s responsive. Checking out a WordPress theme’s documentation is also a good idea.
Essential Aspects of Responsive Web Design
Effective, responsive web design tackles the critical areas that impact a site’s appearance and function across multiple devices.
The most crucial step is to acquaint yourself with all the ways people can visit your site, regarding devices and users’ individual needs and habits. Each part of your content and structure will react and adjust to diverse screen sizes, orientations, and so on.
Design For A Wide Range Of Devices
Your website should be able to adapt to a wide range of screen sizes and dimensions, including desktop, laptop, tablet, and mobile (There are so many different sizes of mobile). Because devices now exist in a wide range of sizes and proportions, it’s preferable to think of this as a fluid spectrum rather than isolated categories. Furthermore, when reading on a mobile device, users may switch between landscape and portrait modes, which you should manage.
Relative Length Units
The length settings you employ are the most critical factor in making your site responsive. Absolute units (such as pixels) will prevent your design from adapting to different device sizes or allowing users to change the text for their individual accessibility needs.
Use viewport-relative units or font-relative units. No matter how your layout bends, this will scale with changes in device or typeface size and maintain the functionality of your site.
Layout
The overall layout of your site is crucial for retaining the majority of your site’s look and legibility across devices. Consider columns, grids, negative space, and the eye’s movement down the page.
Content should reflow when the viewport narrows to make your layout more vertical. Flexible grids will allow you to adjust your layout while keeping a logical structure. Setting the min-width, max-width, min-height, and max-height attributes can help keep those alterations in check.
Navigation
Navigation will appear differently on different devices, but it will also change the way people engage with it. A navigation bar at the side or topmost area of the screen, for example, feels natural and is simple to use on a laptop with a trackpad.
This could also be the situation with a tablet. Users will anticipate one-handed capability once the gadget is small enough to be held one-handed. When you hit a mobile breakpoint, you can enable thumb navigation by placing the navbar at the bottom of the screen. The recommended size for thumbs is the equivalent of 48dp.
The navigation options are available down the length of the navbar, making it more discoverable on larger screens. You may wish to reduce navigation into something like a hamburger menu as it allows for larger buttons, which are easier to use with fingers.
Summary:
Responsive website design guarantees a better page experience and accessibility to the most significant number of users across devices. However, if your site fails to resize on tablets and smartphones, you may need to work with a professional WordPress developer to make it look right. Contact Shane today.
