The number one rule in online presence is not to go against the ranking rules of a major search engine. And you should avoid unhappy customers as well—the answer: responsive web design. Read on.

There was a time in web development history that web technologies did not harmonize with the user’s devices. The focus solely went with different designs and types of end-user devices. These include desktops, laptops, and mobile phones.

To cater to these “tribes” of devices, developers build different sites for each device. Instead of building a solution, it became a lousy approach to web development. Plus, the continuous growth of different mobile types of devices added to the problem.

But, in 2010, a web designer named Ethan Marcotte first coined the term “responsive web design.” And, this has become a revolutionary approach to building websites.

Decades later, Ethan Marcotte’s famous line still applies to the recent trends in website development:

“Responsive web design offers us a way forward, finally allowing us to design for the ebb and flow of things.”

The Importance of Responsive Web Design in 2020

Web developers always use responsive web design skills to impress their customers. On the other hand, this web technology is the go-to solution to achieve that user-friendly interface and higher customer retention websites.

Therefore, if your business is not using this, it is time to rethink your tech strategy. Here are two important reasons that startup owners should realize about responsive web design:

Caters to the increase in mobile usage

Mobile browsing continues to be of preference compared to desktop browsing. The reasons are obvious, but the launching of 5G technology adds to the ever-increasing numbers of mobile users.

For example, a responsive site has additional tools, such as a click-to-call button for customers. This enables a user to make a voice call to the customer service immediately. Also, mobile technologies allow potential customers to find you and read reviews using apps like Google Maps.

Crucial for E-commerce websites

For instance, if you are an e-commerce site owner, what do you think is one of the most common problems with this type of niche? The answer: Abandoned shopping carts. Most users cite slow page loading as the reason which results in billions of potential sales disappearing.

It became a strategy that most e-commerce businesses send emails or notifications to ask why individuals are abandoning their purchases. The response indicates slow page loading and issues related to long registration forms. In which poor responsiveness aggravates these issues all the time.

The rule of thumb in web designing is that users prefer fewer processes. The easy way they can purchase, the more transactions you will expect. The less demanding you make for customers to make purchases on your site, the more sales will come in. And this is possible with responsive web design.

Revealing the Essential Secret of Responsive Web Design

Startup owners don’t necessarily need to be tech-savvy to launch websites with successful, responsive web design techniques. However, a little knowledge of what is responsive web design won’t do any harm.

Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) is one of the fundamentals of web development. It continues to improve and has helped developers since the advent of browsers. There are CSS properties that help developers build web pages, but at the same time creates conflict with the desired design.

To solve these issues, developers use these two CSS layout systems: Flexbox and CSS grid.

Flexbox

Developers started using Flexbox in 2009, and it continues to gain popularity among frontend developers. It sticks to its purpose of building responsive web pages. It organizes elements efficiently and is the primary layout system for modern websites.

But, there’s a catch; Flexbox is a one-dimensional layout system. Although this is not an advantage, Flexbox only creates a row or a column axis layout. However, this is a huge improvement from the tricky hacks that developers execute with float and position properties in their CSS code before.

CSS Grid

As mentioned, Flexbox is a powerful layout system because it’s a one-dimensional system. But, developers also use CSS Grid.

Flexbox vs. CSS Grid

So, which type of layout system will help build your responsive website? Here are some recommendations:

Use Flexbox if you:

• have a small design to implement,
• need to align elements (developers can create flex containers using the display and choose the flex-direction),
• commit a content-first design (if you don’t know the exact look of your content layout, Flexbox is ideal for this scenario).

Use CSS grid when you:

• have a complex design to implement,
• need to have a gap between block elements (gap property is not available in Flexbox, which makes CSS grid suitable for defining a gap between rows or columns easily),
• have overlapping elements (grid-column and grid-row properties make it easy to build responsive websites),
• need a layout-first design (when you want to position the elements the way you want).

Your Business Needs A Responsive Web Design

Responsive web design is not going anywhere; most businesses are using it. Building a responsive website is a must, but does it contribute to commercial success?

Brand Point, a content marketing company, believes that content is king. But a well-designed multi-channel content campaign is useless on an unresponsive website.

Additionally, screen resolutions continue to change as new devices reach the market. According to this site, worldwide mobile usage tops with 50.48%, followed by desktop with 46.51% and tablet at 3%. To tackle this unprecedented increase, startup owners should build an optimized, responsive website for every customer, whatever their device preference.

To top it all, Google recommends responsive web design as it is good for SEO. Optimizing content for multiple sites is a bad practice. Rather, build a single site that is easy to update and optimized for all kinds of devices. This method gives several SEO benefits, such as:

• higher local rankings
• increased conversions
• lower bounce rates
• easier for Google to index your site

Responsive Web Design is an Investment

As a responsible business owner, it is important to know that responsive web design is an investment. However, you’ll probably need convincing to embrace that fact. To help you out, some companies can assist you.

Full Scale is a professional offshore web development company in Kansas, USA. We help startup owners with customized websites and digital marketing needs. Our Guided Development strategy, coupled with our expert developers, can help you with your website.

At Full Scale, we can make your website look exceptional yet functional. Our pool of responsive web designers can help you with all your design requirements. Not only that, but we can also help you with building a separate mobile app.

If you need help with responsive web design and other services to grow your business up to no limits, talk to us.