Responsive Web Design

For those organisations that don’t act now, they may find themselves behind the curve. Here’s why:

A million screens have hatched and we need to build for all of them. With literally thousands of devices all running different versions of mobile operating systems, this has become a major headache for businesses and developers.

Apps have their place, but users will only download an app when they are brand loyal, or if the app offers significant functionality that the website doesn’t offer. In addition, dedicated mobile websites have their place, but it means managing two content databases, which can be an administration nightmare for even larger organisations.

Enter responsive web design.

In simple terms, a responsive web design uses “media queries” to ascertain what resolution of device it’s being served on. Rather that try and explain, try this yourself right now – if you’re viewing this article on a desktop browser, try making the browser window smaller… On our websites homepage, you’ll see the layout shrink from three columns, to a single column of content, which simulates how the content is displayed on a mobile or even a small tablet device.

When planning a responsive website, the first thing we advise clients to do is look at their business objectives, then study the existing website analytics to ascertain what trends can be found, in terms of the frequency a certain page is viewed by a certain type of device. This information will help shape the mobile experience and really improve the end result.

It’s all about giving the user the right information at the right time. For example, if I’m stood on a railway station platform looking at a mobile website, then I probably want different types of information presented to me, compared to when I’m at home on a desktop computer. For example, it would be far more beneficial to show me which trains are on time and which are running late. On a mobile you usually want information served quickly – so fast loading of pages and the information displayed in a way that makes it easy to find what you need is paramount.

The best solution for each client can vary dramatically – some sites may end up with the news or blog articles displayed on the home page, other sites a diary of events; it all depends on what you are channelling your potential customer to do on your site and – more importantly – what they are looking to do.

Design with the customer in mind and consider your business goals and you’ll end up with a mobile solution that increases your revenue and improves customer perception.

To discuss how a responsive web solution can help your business, contact me.