The concept of responsive web design first became popular around 2013. Mashable even created an article saying “Why 2013 is the year of responsive web design.” Despite the amount of discussion that it has garnered, a surprising number of organizations still do not even make an attempt to create responsive websites.

Organizations with a strong online presence need to understand the importance of responsive design and the best practices to utilize it.

The importance of responsive web design

Customers are no longer willing to tolerate websites that are not optimized for mobile technology. A recent poll found that 70% of customers are less likely to return to a website with a poor mobile presence.

A number of companies have not gotten the memo. Only 55% of all organizations have optimized their websites for mobile users. They are unwittingly driving away customers that demand a website that is optimized for mobile devices.

Responsive design is also very important for SEO, as Google has transitioned to a mobile-first index. We live in a world where more and more people are accessing the web using their mobile devices, and Google is adapting accordingly. If you want your site to rank higher on Google searches and bring in more traffic, it is recommended to have a responsive site. It is best to look for a digital agency with capabilities across web design. You can try the web design near Tulsa.

Important guidelines for creating responsive websites

Once you understand the importance of responsive websites, you will want to understand how to utilize them effectively. Some important guidelines for creating responsive designs are listed below.

Use the right responsive design tools

There are a lot of great tools that you can use to create responsive designs. One good tool is the Editor X website builder. This tool gives designers an extraordinary amount of control over their designs, which makes it a better option than some of the tools made for beginners. While there is a little more of a learning curve with tools like Editor X, they are much better options than some of the less sophisticated responsive design tools available. You don’t need coding knowledge to use it, but it is better to have some web design skill as it is not as simple as many other DIY website builders. If you are a professional web designer who doesn’t know how to code and you want to have the extra design freedom to fulfill your creative vision, Editor X is perfect for you.

Understand the benefits of fluid grids

In the early days of the Internet, designers relied on archaic solutions to create visuals. They were restricted to using pixels for content. The size of an image was determined by the number of pixels in it.

With modern design practices, sizes of visuals, <div> tags and other elements no longer need to be denoted with pixels. You can now specify dimensions proportion of the overall screen.

It is prudent to use fluid grids to create content these days. This ensures that elements will be properly sized, regardless of the screen they are presented on.

Make sure important navigation links are immediately visible from the menu

One of the biggest changes with mobile technology has been the layout of navigation menus. Desktop users don’t mind using drop-down menus to find more important links.

Unfortunately, these types of menus are not very useful for mobile users. You need to make sure that all essential links can be easily seen from any page that they can be accessed. Mobile users can’t always tell that they need to tap on the hamburger feature to see more links. You can still use that feature for less important links, but the most essential ones need to be prominently displayed.

Make sure touchscreens are enabled

Touchscreens are important features that need to be enabled for mobile users. You should make sure that touchscreens are easily usable across the website. Mobile users need to be able to easily interact with all important features.

Use the right format for important images

The importance of images on any website cannot be understated. The content itself is not the only factor that you have to take into consideration when using images. You also need to make sure that the right image format is selected.

You might find that JPG images her best for photographs. Meanwhile, PNG images might be preferable for smaller visual elements, such as buttons that the user needs to click.

Have a clearly mapped out web strategy before developing a responsive site

You need to always plan in advance before creating any website. You need to think things through even more if you are developing a responsive site. It is important to outline all of your goals and decide which content is necessary. You need to be realistic about the fact that you will need to trim some content from mobile versions of the site. When you are planning out your design, you will be able to choose which content should be omitted from it.