Responsive design - What is it and why does it matter?

What is it?

If your website is built with a responsive design, this means it follows a 'one design fits all' kind of method. It means that whatever design you have created for your website, it will flow, fit and adapt to any device screen your customer could access it from; be it a mobile, laptop, desktop or tablet.

Having a responsive design is not only incredibly accessible for your customers, but it can also help you and your company save time and money, as you are not developing different websites or designs in addition to your original just so it fits with a particular screen size.

Why is it important?

Did you know that more people than ever are online? 58.8% of the world's population in fact! It is a good time to get your company online and its presence more adaptable than ever.

Statistics show that 60% of people in the UK use their smartphone to connect to the Internet as of 2020, compared to just 16% using their laptop.

So what might happen if your website design isn't fit for a mobile? We wouldn't want you to lose out just because customers can't navigate themselves around your website. Maybe it's time to adapt!

How we do things

• At Minted Box, we start with most important screen size for your project based on your customer behaviour.
• We decide the journey and visuals and make sure they're as effective as they can be for this most important screen size.
• Once the design has been agreed, we translate the designs onto other screen sizes for sign-off.
• Finally, we code it up!

Some bonus advice

When designing a website, it's absolutely vital to consider these things for every screen size:

• Plan the layout first! What will your customers need to know when they first click on your website?
• How can you get their questions answered as quickly as possible using your layout?
• Consider your images, will they still have a purpose when placed on a smaller screen? Make sure any text within the images is still legible on mobile screens.
• Ensure your buttons and other interactive elements can be easily clicked on smaller screens.
• Consider behaviours we develop on our mobiles that do not transfer to our desktops. For example, share buttons may need to be visible on a desktop for the main social channels, but on a mobile, users are far more likely to share webpages using their in-browser options. Therefore share buttons may not be necessary on your mobile designs.

If you want to make your website more adaptable and accessible for your users, we are more than happy to help you out!

Why not get in touch today to see how we could help?